The Kollam City Cyber Police team on Saturday arrested two individuals involved in a cyber scam targeting victims by promising high returns on share trading investments. The accused, 33-year-old Shamsuddin from Ponnani and 21-year-old Fazalu Rahman from Tirurangadi, were apprehended in Malappuram following separate investigations.
The scam operation began when the accused lured victims with the promise of substantial profits from share trading. To gain their trust, they invited victims into exclusive WhatsApp groups, where they collected sensitive personal information, including PAN numbers, Aadhaar details, and bank account information. Once the trust was built, the scammers displayed fabricated profit figures to convince victims to deposit money into various accounts.
In one case, the accused gang managed to extort Rs1.37 crore from a Kollam resident, while another gang took Rs9.4 lakh from a resident of Oachira. The police were able to track and arrest the suspects last week following the filing of complaints by the victims.