Srinagar, Apr 6: Cyber Police today said it recovered Rs 18 lakhs which were lost in a fake investment scam and refunded the amount into bank account of the complainant.
Cyber Police Station Kashmir Zone, Srinagar received a complaint from a resident of Bandipora stating therein that he had been duped for an amount of Rs 18 lakh by the fraudsters in an online investment scam.
“The complainant received a link of fake investment website on his cell number wherein he was promised to get double monetary benefits. The victim fell prey and accessed the website where he get himself registered on said website by opening of e-wallet. After registration, victim was made to transfer the hefty amount of Rs 18 lacs in the said wallet through various UPI transactions. The victim after depositing the said amount was unable to get benefits and was also not able to withdraw his own amount from the said wallet. The complainant tried hard to reach out on available contact details of said company but all in vain,” Cyber Police said in a statement.
It said accordingly, the complainant approached Cyber Police Kashmir Zone Srinagar for redressal of his grievance. Subsequently, the matter was taken up with bank authorities to ascertain the details of UPI transactions. “During analysis of transactions, it came to fore that the said amount has been transferred through payment gateways into their PayTm Nodal Accounts. The strenuous and timely intervention by the team of Cyber Police Kashmir Zone Srinagar, the payment of Rs 18 lakh was put on hold and later on refunded the whole amount into the complainant’s bank account,” it said.
Pertinently, it is a new trend for online influencers to convince gullible citizens about “double money return” schemes and make people feel bad about missing the “opportunity” of investing in instruments like crypto-currency, binary trading, crypto mining, online betting and gaming,” it said.
“General public is once again advised not to believe in such fake links and websites and avoid transferring any amount in any form as they are entirely fake. Community members have hailed the prompt action of Cyber Police Station Kashmir Zone Srinagar in tracing and saving the hard earned money of the complainant,” it added.