Kerala doctor loses Rs 7.65 crore in stock market investment scam, 3 arrested

Alappuzha: In another shocking cyber fraud case, a Cherthala-based doctor was allegedly duped Rs 7.65 crore in a stock market investment scam. As a result, the police managed to capture three fraudsters in this connection.

According to the police, the three arrested fraudsters are alleged to be part of a large interstate racket. Although the doctor lost a whooping amount in crores, the police have recovered Rs 35 lakh from the arrested accused.

The alleged fraud started when the doctor started receiving messages from what seemed to be two genuine investment companies. The fraudsters pretending to be authorities of these companies were able to manipulate him and extract the money when the doctor responded to text messages after being intrigued by the possibility of earning high profits.

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To earn the trust of the victim, the fraudsters offered thorough tutorials on the investment procedure, also answering all his questions and creating a convincing illusion of legitimacy. After being convinced by the fraudsters, the doctor was asked to deposit investment money into five different accounts. To maintain the illusion of legitimacy, they sent periodic messages claiming profits had been credited to his account making the doctor believe in the scheme.

Speaking to Onmanorama, a police official said ''The fraudsters began calling the victim posing as authorities from the said firms. They took classes for him detailing how to make the investments and how it would bring huge profits. They cleared all his doubts and convinced him that the deal was authentic."

''The complainant never doubted these messages nor did he check the veracity of these messages. That was a mistake. Instead, he trusted them to be true and made more such ‘investments.’ The final transaction he made was for Rs 50 lakh before he eventually realised that he had been duped. The transactions were done to five accounts, two of which - Petro Logistics and Modern - were traced to Kozhikode." said the official.

''We utilised the data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). We identified the five different accounts to which he transferred money. Two of them were registered in the name of two women in Kozhikode. Our investigation revealed that one of the women's son-in-law and two of his friends were operating these accounts,'' the official said.

"The other accounts were traced to Gujarat and other parts of north India. Rs 35 lakh was recovered of the Rs 50 lakh from the arrested. The arrested will be produced before the court along with the retrieved money. State police will take up the case for further inquiry and track down the other members involved in the racket,'' added the official.

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