2 lose Rs13L in online investment fraud

Trichy: Two people in Trichy were cheated online by unknown groups which promised attractive returns on investments through mobile apps, leaving them poorer by more than Rs13 lakh.Lakshmi Narayanan, 41, from K K Nagar, was allegedly engaged in online trading. In March, he received a WhatsApp group call from a firm claiming to be ‘Motilal Oswal' regarding online investment opportunities that promised good profits. Lakshmi Narayanan contacted a person named Suraksha, who instructed him to download an app named ‘RIISE.'Believing the assurances, Lakshmi Narayanan downloaded the RIISE app and invested Rs7.1 lakh between March 10 and April 13. However, he did not receive any profits. Realising he had been cheated, Lakshmi Narayanan lodged a complaint through National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.Sripriya, 41, from Srirangam, came across a Facebook advertisement for ‘Sangeetha Silk' in March and bought a saree online. Later, she was drawn into investing, and transacted up to Rs6.2 lakh from March 9 to April 16. When she did not receive any returns, she filed a complaint through NCRP.Trichy Cyber Crime Police registered two separate cases on Tuesday under Sections 318(4) and 319(1) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating with dishonest inducement of delivery of property and cheating by impersonation. Section 66(D) of IT Act was also invoked for cheating by impersonation using computer resources. The investigation is in progress.