Coimbatore woman loses 1.7 crore to online fraudsters

Coimbatore: A 63-year-old woman from Vadavalli in the city was cheated of Rs1.66 crore in an online trading scam.The city cybercrime police said the woman, wife of a builder, came across an Instagram reel a few months ago that promoted online trading. "She clicked a link attached to the video and her mobile phone number was added to a WhatsApp group by an unidentified person," a police officer said. The group regularly shared stock market tips, charts, and information on buying and selling shares of leading companies, the officer said quoting the victim. "One of the members contacted her personally and promised huge returns, if she invested through their platform. Trusting them, the woman transferred Rs1.66 crore in several transactions to different bank accounts provided by her contact." The fraud was uncovered when she tried to withdraw the invested amount and the promised profits from the trading portal. "Her transaction was blocked and when she attempted to contact the WhatsApp group coordinators, their mobile phones were switched off," the officer said. The woman lodged a complaint with the city cybercrime police, who registered a case. As the fraud amount exceeds Rs1 crore, the case has been transferred to the cybercrime headquarters in Chennai for further investigation.