Three were arrested for cheating a Madurai man of Rs 92 lakh

CHENNAI: The cybercrime wing of Tamil Nadu police has arrested three people on charges of cheating a Madurai resident of Rs 92.2 lakh through an online trading scam.

Besides Tamil Nadu, the investigation revealed that the suspects were involved in cyber crimes in other states including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal , Nagaland and Odisha. Police have detected fraudulent transactions worth around Rs 3 crore through the bank account they created to launder the defrauded amount, police said in an official statement.

In July, the Madurai resident complained to the cybercrime wing of a Rs 92.2 lakh scam after he responded to a Facebook ad promoting a high-profit online trading scheme. The petitioner relied on the claims and transferred money to multiple bank accounts. He realized that he had been misled when the promised returns were not provided and filed a cyber complaint with the Madurai District Cyber ​​Crime Police Station for legal action and recovery of the lost amount.

To identify the perpetrators involved in the case, a special team conducted a probe into the frozen amount of Rs 21.1 lakh found in various bank accounts linked to the suspects. When the victim’s transaction data was analyzed, it was found that cybercriminals, identified as V Nithish Kumar and L Chandrasekaran from Namakkal and K Suresh from Sauripalayam in Coimbatore, used a Bandhan Bank account for their fraudulent activities. The investigation revealed that these persons had opened a current account named “Murugan Traders” under the ownership of Nithish Kumar and earned lakhs as commissions on each transaction amounting to Rs 1 crore.

The special team went to Namakkal and Coimbatore and arrested the suspects. Items seized during the operation included laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, passbooks and ATM cards used in the crime. The suspects have been remanded in custody. Further actions are being taken to arrest the remaining persons involved in the crime.

Citizens have been advised by police to be cautious of WhatsApp groups claiming to be from popular trading platforms as testimonials posted in such groups are fabricated. If you have been added by anyone, leave the group immediately, police added.