The Bengaluru police have busted a massive cyber scam to the tune of Rs 854 crore, and arrested six people for allegedly cheating thousands across India via the fraudulent online investment scheme. The accused persons have been identified as Manoj, Panindra, Chakradhar, Shrinivas, Somashekar and Vashanth, all residents of Bengaluru. Officials told the media on Saturday, September 30, they have zeroed in on three other people as the masterminds behind the scam, and efforts are underway to nab them. Equipment including laptops, mobile phones, printers, and swiping machines were reportedly recovered from the accused gang.
The gang is alleged to have ensnared people through messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram, with promises of a lucrative plan that would provide them higher returns on their investments. The scammers first asked the victims to invest comparatively smaller amounts ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000, claiming that they would earn a profit of Rs 1,000-5,000 every day, a senior police officer said. Eventually, thousands of people were lured into the scheme with many of them investing amounts that go up to 10 lakh or more.
The money invested via online payments was transferred to different bank accounts, and when victims tried to withdraw the amount after the investment process was completed, they found that they were unable to do so, officials said.
After the Bengaluru police launched a detailed investigation, they reportedly realised that up to 5,013 such cases had been filed across India. Up to 17 of them were lodged in different police stations in Bengaluru. The swindled amount of Rs 854 crore is learnt to have subsequently been divided and sent to 18 separate mule bank accounts, many of them in different states and. Up to Rs 5 crore of the swindled amount has been frozen, officials said, adding that victims in Bengaluru alone were cheated of up to Rs 49 lakh.