Kerala Doctor Duped Of Rs 4.43 Crore In WhatsApp Trading Scam, Two Arrested
A doctor in Kerala was scammed of Rs 4.43 crore after falling victim to a fraudulent WhatsApp scheme. The state's cybercrime unit has arrested two men in connection with the case, according to officials quoted by IANS.
The accused have been identified as Mehbubasha Farooq and Rijaz, and they were arrested in Chennai by the Kannur City Cyber Crime Police. While Farooq hails from Chennai, Rijaj is a resident of Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district and has been settled in Chennai.
The two accused allegedly ran a scam via WhatsApp, luring the victim with promises of high returns from investments in a fake online trading platform.
According to police, the accused added the doctor — a resident of Mattannur in Kerala's Kannur district — to a WhatsApp group in June, where they promoted an online share trading scheme and promised large profits.
The victim was asked to send money to several bank accounts under the pretext of a 'wealth profit plan' linked to a fictitious company named Upstock.
'We have traced about Rs 40 lakh deposited by the accused in their accounts. Besides this, the police detected as many as 18 more accounts in the name of various individuals to transfer the money earned through online fraud. The matter is under investigation now," said the officer.
He also confirmed that no links to terrorism had been uncovered during the inquiry.
Though the trading app would show the profits earned, he found the platform unresponsive and could not withdraw the amount, prompting him to approach the police to file a complaint with the police on June 25.
'The victim was led to believe he was making lucrative investments, but the entire setup was a sham," the cyber police said.
The incident came to light after the cybercrime team tracked down the suspects by following the trail of bank account numbers and mobile phones used in the fraud. A deeper investigation led them to Chennai, where the two accused were arrested.
The officer added that they are now looking into whether a larger network is involved and if there are more victims connected to the online scam.
(With inputs from IANS)
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