
COIMBATORE: A couple lost Rs 90 lakh online through fake trading and investment schemes. Police said the victim (38) is a businessman from Periyanaickenpalayam who wanted to trade in shares and searched for information online. Based on his search, he started to receive offers to trading online. In December 2024, he received a link which appeared to be that of a a popular trading firm and invested money through it.
Initially he received profitable returns, which encouraged him to invest more. Encouraged by this, he invested Rs 80 lakh while his wife invested Rs 10 lakh, with 50% of funds borrowed from friends. The app showed they had accumlated Rs 2.7 crore. On December 7, when they tried to withdraw money, they could neither access the funds nor their bank accounts.
A month later, on January 21, 2025, the couple approached cybercrime police. Investigation revealed that they had been cheated of Rs 90 lakh, and their accounts had been frozen because bank authorities believed the accounts were involved in other online scams.
A senior police officer, “The scammers used the couple’s greed and initially offered Rs 3 lakh profit. However, this money was obtained from other victims. Money stolen from one was given as profit to another, cleverly diverting funds and trapped the victims who became accused in a separate scam. Unknowingly, the victim withdrew profits, which made him guilty as the funds are from another scam. In this way, the real scammers managed to evade arrest, making victims as accused.” A case was booked under sections 318 (4) of the BNS Act and 66D of the IT Act,
Police said 12 bank accounts from various states, including West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Delhi, are involved in the case. The victim delayed lodging complaint. We have sent letters to the respective banks to freeze the accounts that may hold the money and sought information regarding any further transfer of funds,” said the officer.