27-05-2025
Coimbatore entrepreneur duped of Rs 64 lakh online in overseas job scam
COIMBATORE: A woman entrepreneur from Coimbatore has allegedly lost Rs 64 lakh in a sophisticated online scam promising low-cost overseas job placements.
The Cyber Crime Police have arrested a 25-year-old man from Gujarat in connection with the fraud and are continuing further investigation.
The victim, a resident of RS Puram and director of BiMars Education Limited — a firm that facilitates placements in countries like Ukraine, Croatia, Poland, and Serbia — came across a Facebook advertisement offering international job opportunities at affordable rates. The ad was allegedly posted by the accused, Mohammad Irfan Shaikh (25), son of Mohammad Farid Shaikh, a native of Khambhat in Gujarat's Anand district.
Believing his promises, the woman entered into an agreement with a purported company named Sunsteller Private Limited, which police later confirmed to be fictitious. Following the agreement, she transferred around Rs 64 lakh to an ICICI Bank account held by the accused, across multiple transactions. The payments were made in exchange for visa invitations, work permits, and other supporting documentation for her clients seeking jobs abroad.
The scam came to light after the applicants attempted to verify their documents at various VFS centres, only to discover they were invalid. Acting on the complaint, the Coimbatore City Cyber Crime Police booked the case under IPC sections 419, 420, 466, 468, 471 and Section 66D of the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008.
Police sources confirmed the arrest of Mohammad Irfan Shaikh and said further investigation is underway to uncover possible accomplices and recover the defrauded amount.
