Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Busts Major Stock Trading Scam, Arrests Three from West Bengal

Three people from West Bengal have been arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police's Cyber Crime Wing for their roles in online stock trading frauds. These arrests are part of ongoing investigations into two different fraud incidents in which victims lost a lot of money.

The police stated that the scam operated in a very organised way. It usually begins with unsuspecting people being added to WhatsApp groups that look real. These groups are full of false success stories and feedback that are meant to trick people into thinking they can make a lot of money. Scammers would sometimes even give little profits at first to build trust.  But as soon as the victim starts putting in more money, the scammers disappear, leaving the person with a lot of money gone.

In the first case, a victim landed on a Facebook link that they thought was a real trading app. He put in more than ₹1.6 crore because he trusted the site. On August 21, the Cyber Crime team tracked the money trail and caught Sahazada Hossain from Cooch Behar, West Bengal. The police said he was a "layer 1 mule account holder," which means that his bank account was used to transfer money.  At least 29 cybercrime cases in India have been linked to him, according to records.

In the second case, a Tamil Nadu victim was tricked into downloading a fraudulent investing app via WhatsApp. Last year, he put in ₹50 lakh and was scammed in the same way.  Police arrested two more individuals from West Bengal after investigating into it, Amit Saha, 24, and Kamalesh Debnath, 36. Amit Saha, who also has a mule account, has been associated with 35 events in India. Kamalesh  Debnath was an agent who acquired bank accounts for scammers and got paid a commission for doing so.

Sandeep Mittal, Additional Director General of Police (Cyber Crime), stated that the arrests were based on significant evidence and that the investigation is still going on to find other connections.

These instances show how online scammers are getting smarter all the time.Scammers use social media, fake applications, and messaging groups to trick people into giving them money by making false promises.Once again, officials advised people to be careful, check the source before investing, and never accept random links or WhatsApp groups that promise instant rewards.

Information referenced in this article is from The Hindu