Thiruvananthapuram resident cheated of Rs 1.19 crore, accused held

A 47-year-old man from Palakkad was arrested for allegedly cheating a Thiruvananthapuram resident of more than Rs 1.19 crore in an online trading scam, police said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Ramesh from Kannadi in Palakkad district, was arrested by the Thiruvananthapuram City Cyber Crime Police following an investigation into a complaint filed by a native of Kadakampally.

According to police, the fraud began when the victim was contacted on social media by individuals posing as representatives of a reputed UK-based investment company.

They allegedly promised unusually high returns through online share trading and gradually gained the victim's trust.

To make the operation appear genuine, the fraudsters reportedly used mobile applications and WhatsApp groups designed to resemble real stock market trading platforms.

Convinced by these claims, the victim transferred money in several instalments to different bank accounts provided by the accused.

Police said the total loss in the scam was Rs 1.19 crore.

The fraud came to light after the victim failed to receive either the promised profits or the return of the original investment.

A special investigation team was formed by the city police following the complaint, amid a rise in cyber fraud cases in the state.

Investigators tracked bank transactions and analysed mobile tower locations before arresting the accused.

During the operation, police also seized several mobile phones, electronic gadgets, and fake documents allegedly used in the scam.

The investigation was carried out under the supervision of Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner K Karthik and DCP Taposh Basumatary.

Cyber Crime ACP Shaji M K, Inspector Sherry A K, and a team of civil police officers were part of the probe.

Police have once again warned the public against falling for investment offers circulated through unknown WhatsApp and Telegram groups.

They advised people to trade only through brokers registered with SEBI.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)