Over 530 people have lodged complaints with the Cyber Crime Police, reporting losses amounting to several crores of rupees. (Express Illustrations)
Tamil Nadu

Over 500 duped in Puducherry as cyber police warn against fake investment app scam

For two months investors got daily returns, but later the app said payouts would only be on Fridays, citing trouble managing daily disbursements.

Express News Service

PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry Cyber Crime police have issued a warning about a fraudulent investment application and informed that nearly 500 people have been scammed in Puducherry through the app.

“For the past three months, an online application called OAG has been advertising schemes promising daily high returns on investments. According to the promotion, those who invested Rs 2,000 were promised Rs 100 per day, Rs 5,000 investment would yield Rs 250 per day, Rs 10,000 would give Rs 500 per day, and an investment of Rs 19,500 would bring Rs 700 per day,” cyber crime wing sources said.

Over 700 people allegedly invested in the OAG group. The official said, “As promised, the app initially credited daily payments matching the investments. Investors encouraged their friends and relatives to join, claiming that the app generated steady income.”

The official further stated, “For the first two months, investors received regular daily returns. However, the app’s administrators later announced that payments would be made only on Fridays, citing difficulties in managing daily disbursements.”

Attracted by the claim of Rs 700 daily returns for an investment of Rs 19,600, many people invested additional amounts. However, over the past three weeks, no investor has received any returns. The suspension of payments began when government holidays coincided with Fridays.

"So far, over 530 people have lodged complaints with the Cyber Crime Police, reporting losses amounting to several crores of rupees." official added.

Similar scams were earlier reported in Puducherry involving applications such as LOOKAPP, G7, G9, AI Dashboard, and crypto-based platforms, where several crores were scammed.

Puducherry Cyber Crime Superintendent Nithya Rathakrishnan said, “People should not invest money online through unknown apps or links. Most of these fraudulent applications are operated from abroad. Despite repeated cases where people have lost crores in the last few months, many continue to be deceived by promises of high profits. We caution people not to fall for such investment scams.”

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