MUMBAI: The South Cyber Police arrested two persons on Saturday in a cyber fraud scheme case. They had called up a 75-year-old businessman from Colaba, claiming to be from a well-known investment company, and lured him to invest Rs 11.6 crore, and duped him.
The investigation by South Cyber Police into the money trail led them to Delhi, where they arrested Dinesh Dulapuria (28) and Rajesh Kori (29). The police are still looking for Ramkishore Kori, and Mukhtar Sayyed.
Fraudsters posing as representatives of the investment company’s ‘Club 17′ convinced the businessman to invest in what seemed like a lucrative stock trading opportunity. The scam, executed through WhatsApp and a fraudulent trading app, drained his life savings over a span of three months.
On Aug 19, 2024, the businessman received investment-related messages on WhatsApp from a woman named Aanya Smith, who claimed to be from Club 17. She shared trading tips, market insights, and IPO opportunities to win his trust.
The businessman was given access to an online trading platform through a link where he could monitor his investment and profits real time. Believing it to be a genuine over-the-counter account of the company, he began transferring money for stock trading. “From Sept 5, 2024 to Oct 19, 2024, he transferred Rs 11.6 crore to various accounts in 22 transactions,” said an official.
Initially, he saw impressive profits in the trading app, further convincing him to invest more. However, when he tried to withdraw funds, he was told to pay a 20% “cess tax” for processing.
Trusting the scammers, he complied. But even after paying the tax, his withdrawal was blocked, and he was asked for more taxes. Here, he lodged a police complaint. The Mumbai Police probe found that the two arrested accused got Rs 9.5 lakh in their accounts, leading to their arrest.
