Doctor among five arrested in Rs 2.30 crore cyber fraud using fake matrimonial profile

Surat: A doctor is among five people arrested in connection with a Rs 2.30 crore cyber fraud in which a Surat-based man was allegedly duped through a fake matrimonial profile and lured into investing in a bogus forex trading scheme. Investigators said the probe has uncovered an interstate and cross-border racket with links extending from Gujarat to Nepal.  

According to investigators, the victim was lured through a fake matrimonial profile. After gaining his trust, the accused allegedly persuaded him to invest in a fraudulent forex trading scheme, initially showing fake profits before convincing him to invest larger sums. 

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Speaking to Bhaskar English, SP Dr. Rajdeepsinh Jhala of State Cyber Centre of Excellence stated, “The accused had created a fake profile named 'Jigyasa Kapoor' on a matrimonial site. Subsequently, they contacted the victim through the 'Dilsafar' app and made them invest Rs 50 thousand initially in forex trading”. He added, “After winning the victim's trust by showing profits, they were motivated to invest more in the RoboForex platform”.

He added that the victim eventually transferred Rs 2.30 crore into multiple bank accounts controlled by the accused. The fraudsters later claimed that his investment account had been locked and allegedly pressured him to deposit more money. Suspecting foul play, the victim lodged a complaint.

During the investigation, police found that the accused had created a fake firm named “R.P. Chemicals” and opened bank accounts in the names of different individuals to route illicit funds.  

One of these bank accounts was found to be linked to 31 cyber fraud cases across India, with transactions worth nearly Rs 15 crore passing through it. Officials also said that cyber frauds exceeding Rs 3.15 crore have been directly connected to these cases.

Police arrested five accused in connection with the racket and seized seven mobile phones, an Aadhaar card and a bank passbook as evidence. The entire operation was carried out by the team of the State Cyber Centre of Excellence.

According to investigators, the first accused opened the bank account in the name of R.P. Chemicals and handed over the account kit to the second accused in exchange for a commission.

The probe further revealed that the second accused contacted a doctor operating a clinic in Upleta in Gujarat. This link allegedly expanded the network further, eventually connecting to accused based in Delhi. 

Authorities said one of the accused later coordinated with another associate who facilitated sending bank account kits to Nepal, where they were allegedly used to receive and route fraud money.

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