Telegram ‘old coin task’ scam busted: 6 engineering graduates arrested; 10 phone, 33 SIMs, 68 ATM cards seized

TENKASI: The Tenkasi district cybercrime police busted an inter-state online gambling and fraud racket with the arrest of six engineering graduates from Sivaganga and Pudukkottai districts on Sunday.The accused allegedly cheated a Tenkasi resident of ₹5.83 lakh through a fraudulent "Old Coin Purchase Task" promoted on Telegram, promising high returns. The arrested were identified as Saravanan, 23, Hareesh, 23, Deva, 27, and Jahith Ahmed, 29, of Sivaganga, and Sudakaran and Avudaiyappan, both around 30, of Pudukkottai. Police said the case came to light after the victim complained that he was lured into a fake website and Telegram group, where he was made to invest money in the name of bidding for old coins. To gain his trust, the fraudsters displayed a fake balance in a virtual wallet before cutting off all communication after receiving the money. Following the complaint, a special team tracked the suspects to Sivaganga and Pudukkottai and arrested them. Police seized 10 mobile phones, 33 SIM cards, 44 bank account details, 68 ATM cards, 13 cheque books, two laptops and a memory card. Preliminary investigation revealed that all the accused are engineering graduates who had earlier worked in Singapore and used their technical expertise to carry out cyber fraud. They allegedly routed the stolen money through multiple digital payment applications, including Donepay, Showpay, Hoyopay and Havipay. The gang also procured "mule accounts" by persuading villagers in Sivaganga, Paramakudi and Kalayarkovil to open bank accounts in exchange for small payments, which were then used to divert the crime proceeds. Further analysis of bank records linked the suspects to over 100 cybercrime cases across Tamil Nadu and other states. Tenkasi police have alerted cybercrime units in other states about the gang's suspected involvement in similar cases.