In a major crackdown, the Chennai Cyber Crime Cell Police uncovered a large-scale online scam on Wednesday, in which over 100 people were defrauded by scammers posing as foreign exchange traders. The authorities arrested Syed Abu Thahir and Syed Ali Hussain in connection with the fraudulent activities.
The investigation began after a complaint was filed by M. Ashok Kumar, an electrician from Thiruverkadu, on January 21. Kumar reported that he had been contacted by two individuals who posed as directors of Deltin International Solutions, a fake forex firm. The scammers targeted people already involved in the stock market and encouraged them to invest in the foreign exchange market through their deceptive websites.
From October 17, 2019, to January 3, 2020, Ashok Kumar transferred Rs 10.54 lakh to the scammers’ account, believing in the promise of high returns. After realizing he had been deceived, Kumar approached the authorities. The Cyber Crime Cell registered an FIR and launched an investigation.
The police traced the fraudulent websites, www.deltinfx.com and www.deltininternationalsolutions.com, to Syed Abu Thahir and Syed Ali Hussain, who confessed to developing and running the sites. The duo used Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls to contact victims and made false promises of lucrative returns on forex investments.
During the investigation, the police confiscated Rs 1.95 lakh and five cell phones from the accused. The two men had been operating the scam out of Chennai for over a year and a half, exploiting the lockdown period to convince victims to invest in their fake trading platforms.
According to police reports, hundreds of victims across India have been defrauded by the scam. The Chennai Cyber Crime Cell Police has urged the public to exercise caution when engaging in forex trading and to verify the legitimacy of any online investment platforms before committing funds.
