Thiruvananthapuram: Two middlemen were arrested in a fake stock trading app scam that defrauded a 63-year-old man of Rs 6 crore The arrests were made by the City Cyber Police, who nabbed Rahul M. Nair (25), a resident of Adoor, and Anu Babu (38), from Nallila in Kollam.
The victim, a man from Pattom, had been tricked into investing in fake stock trading apps over the course of a month. Police investigations revealed that Rahul received Rs 10 lakh from the victim’s account, which was transferred to Anu Babu. The money was then handed over to another person from Karunagappally, who is yet to be arrested.
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The police were able to trace the accused after checking their social media accounts. The police have also seized several pieces of evidence, including fake bank account documents, mobile phones, SIM cards, and cheque books. The two arrested acted as commission agents in the scam. Rahul admitted of receiving a commission of Rs 20,000 for transferring Rs 10 lakh that was defrauded.
It was revealed that around Rs 65 lakh had passed through Rahul’s account as part of the scam. Police also noted that Rahul has been involved in multiple narcotics-related cases at various police stations.
The victim, who had been trading stocks for two years, was targeted through social media and was persuaded to install fake versions of popular stock trading apps like Seroda and Vijay Bajaj Contest. The fraudsters promised huge returns but asked him to deposit 20 percent of his investment before allowing any withdrawals. When the victim grew suspicious and was unable to withdraw his money, he reported the incident to the Cyber Police.
Published: 07 Nov 2024, 09:39 am IST
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