BENGALURU: The South Division police have arrested 20 fraudsters, including six Chinese citizens, who offered part-time jobs to the public and lured them into earning money by watching and liking videos online. Bank deposits of over Rs 16 crore has been frozen by the police.
The Konanakunte police arrested six Chinese citizens - five from Bengaluru and one from Himachal Pradesh - who have allegedly cheated thousands of people. The accused had developed an app named ‘Keep Share’ with the help of Chinese software developers, whose link was circulated through social media advertisements. Through the app, they lured the public into investing crores of rupees as deposit, promising to pay back Rs 20 for each video of celebrities watched and liked. Trusting them, thousands of people paid them huge sums of money.
“The case was cracked following a complaint by a Bengaluru resident, who had lost Rs 4.83 lakh. Investigation revealed that the accused had converted crores of rupees into cryptocurrency. We have frozen over Rs 11 crore that were found in 110 bank accounts,” the police said.
Meanwhile, the Banashankari police have arrested 14 people who had developed ‘Super Like - Online Earning App’ and cheated people. About Rs 5.40 crore in their bank accounts is frozen.
Police said, in both cases, the accused had taken advantage of the lockdown to market their apps.