Three Coimbatore men lose Rs 55 lakh to online fraudsters

By Archana U and Bhavani

COIMBATORE: Online fraudsters cheated three Coimbatore residents of more than Rs 55 lakh in separate incidents, and the city cybercrime police registered three cases on Tuesday.

In the first case, P Daniel, 45, of Kovilmedu, who is engaged in civil construction work, received a message on Facebook Messenger from a person identifying herself as Swetha, someone known to him. Swetha claimed that her child had mistakenly sent the message. The two then continued chatting for about a week. During the conversation, the woman persuaded Daniel to invest in cryptocurrency, promising high returns.

The fraudster sent him a web link, fortunex-d.com, and asked him to use it for the investment. Trusting her, Daniel transferred Rs 29.27 lakh in 17 transactions between February 10 and March 6. He later realised that he had been cheated.

Antony Felix, 40, of Velandipalayam, lost Rs 5.18 lakh. According to police, he received a fake RTO challan message containing an .apk file. Believing he may have committed a traffic violation, Felix he installed the file on April 2. Later that day, while he was in church, cybercriminals allegedly gained access to his bank accounts and siphoned off Rs 5.18 lakh.

Jebastian, 40, an IT employee from Peelamedu, was cheated of Rs 20.97 lakh while he was trying to buy a multi-purpose vehicle through an online marketplace. Police said he was contacted by a stranger who offered to help him purchase the vehicle at an attractive price. Believing the offer, Jebastian transferred Rs 20.97 lakh to a bank account provided by the fraudster.

Police said the stranger had also contacted the seller, pretending to help sell the vehicle at a higher price. Later, it emerged that the seller had not received the money. The accused had allegedly spoken to both the buyer and the seller over the phone, promising benefits to each, but later became untraceable. Investigation into the phone number used by the suspect revealed that it had been activated in different cities.