A man from Hyderabad, Mohammad Adnan, has been arrested for allegedly defrauding a resident of Alappuzha, Kerala, out of Rs 29 lakh through a fraudulent online share trading scheme, police said. The arrest followed a joint operation by the Telangana Cyber Crime Police and the Alappuzha Cybercrime Police.
According to police reports, the accused contacted the victim, a resident of Kalapura in Alappuzha, via Facebook. He lured the victim into a fake share trading investment by promising high returns. The scam was promoted under the guise of the 40th anniversary celebrations of a supposed share trading platform, with an enticing offer that investing USD 10,000 would yield a profit of USD 1,388.
The victim was directed to a fraudulent share trading website that appeared to show artificially inflated profits as he made investments. However, when the victim attempted to withdraw his earnings, he was informed that he needed to pay a 30 percent income tax before accessing his funds.
Realizing that he had been duped, the victim reported the incident to the Alappuzha Cybercrime Police, who registered an FIR through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
The police launched an investigation, which led to the freezing of over Rs 6 lakh from the victim’s account, which had been transferred by the fraudsters to various bank accounts across India, including locations in Delhi, Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.
Assisted by the Telangana Cyber Crime Coordination Center and Rajakonda Cyber Crime Police Station, the authorities tracked down Mohammad Adnan in LB Nagar, Hyderabad. Adnan was arrested on charges of online fraud and money laundering. He was produced before the LB Nagar Additional Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court and later sent to Alappuzha Police on transit remand.
Further investigation revealed that Adnan was also linked to two other fraud cases in Telangana, where he allegedly cheated a doctor in Hayat Nagar of a significant amount.
Police have continued their investigation, focusing on IP addresses and bank accounts across various states, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi, and Assam, to identify other individuals involved in the scam. The accused has been remanded to judicial custody in Alappuzha District Jail as the investigation progresses.