Homemaker loses ₹12.74 lakh to investment fraud

A 38-year-old homemaker from Ejipura has fallen victim to an online investment scam, losing ₹12.74 lakh to fraudsters who lured her with promises of high returns through social media platforms.

The complainant, identified as Jayalakshmi K., while looking for work-from-home options, came across an investment-related page on Facebook. She later contacted the account, where she was introduced to an unidentified individual who persuaded her to invest ₹7,490 initially.

The accused allegedly assured her that within three to four hours, she would receive ₹1,61,469 as returns. However, she was told that 15% of the amount had to be paid as “verification charges” to process the payout. Believing the claims, she transferred money to the UPI ID shared by the fraudsters.

Subsequently, she was informed that her funds were blocked and could be recovered through another contact. She was given a mobile number of a person claiming to be a “legal advisor” named Gaurav Singh. The fraudsters also asked her to download the Signal messaging app for further communication.

Through the app, another individual identified as Amit Sharma allegedly guided her to use a trading platform called Trade Jini, claiming her money was stuck there and could be recovered after additional payments. Trusting their assurances of recovering her funds along with profits, Jayalakshmi transferred money from her bank accounts to multiple UPI IDs and bank accounts, a total of ₹12,74,414, before realising she had been cheated. The accused later stopped responding to her messages and calls.

Based on her complaint on Friday, the Central Division Cyber Crime Police have registered a case against unknown persons under Section 66D (cheating by personation using any communication device or computer resources) of Information Technology Act, 2000 and Section 318(4) (aggravated cheating, where a person dishonestly induces another to deliver property, or create/alter/destroy a valuable security) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 for further investigation.