TN man working in cyber scam compound in Cambodia held

CHENNAI: A fraudster working at a ‘scam compound’ in Cambodia was arrested on his return to India for cheating a retired government official of Rs 1.66 crore in an investment scam. Three others, including a face-to-face agent and two mule account holders, were also arrested, said the State cybercrime wing.

The victim fell into the fraudsters’ trap after contacting them through WhatsApp on numbers mentioned in a YouTube video. "The accused posed as consultants from Motilal Oswal Group and SBI Securities, and manipulated the victim into opening fake institutional trading accounts on fake websites, www.sgjfdu.com and www.sbis2024.xyz," said an official release.

They made the victim transfer Rs 1.66 crore into their accounts on the pretext of investing in lucrative trading opportunities. But when he tried to withdraw funds, the fraudsters stopped responding, which made him suspicious.

After learning that he was scammed, he lodged an online complaint through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. The officials analysed the entire money trail and found that one of the first-layer bank accounts belonged to a fake company named CMST Consultancy, Chennai.

The account holders, N Mohammad Ismail and B Abu Tahir, were arrested on December 6. Ismail is a driver while Tahir runs a garment export business in Tirupur. They led the police to the other accused, D Kesavaraj and Kaleel Ahamed, both involved in export business.

Probe revealed that Ahamed is the main agent, who was working in a scam compound in Cambodia collecting current account details. He was arrested when he landed in India on December 7. All four were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.