Kannur City’s cybercrime unit has made a significant breakthrough by arresting two men from Chennai implicated in a massive Rs 4.43 crore online scam targeting a doctor from Mattanur. The fraud, which unfolded through WhatsApp, involved false promises of high returns via online share trading.
The accused, Mahabubash Farooq (39) and Rijas (41), both residents of Sayed Sadiq Nagar in Mangadu, Chennai, were traced and apprehended after an intensive investigation that tracked their bank account numbers, phone calls, and IMEI details.
Officials revealed that the duo acted as agents who sold bank accounts to cybercriminals. These accounts were used to funnel the defrauded money. Typically, they convinced individuals to open bank accounts in their name, then purchased these accounts without transferring ownership or personal details.
An officer from the Kannur cybercrime police station said, “These agents target unsuspecting people unfamiliar with cyber fraud. One such account handled approximately Rs 40 lakh of the doctor’s money. Through detailed tracking of banking and phone records, we were able to apprehend them in Chennai.”
