CHENNAI: The cyber crime wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Chennai on Saturday arrested four men for allegedly running an elaborate online scam involving fake Initial Public Offering (IPO) and stock trading platforms. The accused duped a T Nagar resident of Rs 2.26 crore by promising high returns on investments, the police said.
The suspects, Sathyanarayanan (60), Manivel (25), Roshan (35), and Simson Chelladurai (26) were traced to Tirunelveli and Tenkasi, where they operated by creating fake current accounts and laundered the proceeds of the crime. Police recovered Rs 4.38 lakh in cash and seized seven mobile phones from them.
According to police, the victim, Kishore, had joined a WhatsApp group after receiving a message about lucrative stock investments. He was directed to click links to fake trading websites and was encouraged to invest in IPOs and stock trading. Trusting the group’s claims of big returns, he made several transactions and deposited money across multiple accounts. Upon realising he had been scammed, Kishore filed a complaint with the police.
The CCB tracked the money trail and identified the accused. Investigations revealed the gang had been operating for over two years, renting commercial premises temporarily, forging documents to open current accounts, and using agents to route money overseas, the police said. The gang had also attempted to rope in small-time actors to endorse their fake trading platform but were nabbed before they could proceed. All four were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.