2 Bardez persons lose Rs 90L in trading, task-based scams

NT Reporter

Panaji

Two persons from Bardez have become the latest victims of cyber fraud, losing close to Rs 90 lakh in total to trading and task-based scams.

In one case, police said a senior citizen, who is a retired employee, lost
Rs 69.75 lakh in a trading scam that occurred between July 5 and 23.

According to the complaint, the victim
was contacted through WhatsApp and invited to join an online trading platform ‘360-ONE-HNW’. Believing it to be genuine, he registered and began trading.

Between July 5 and 23, the complainant transferred the amount via RTGS from his bank account.
The platform displayed that his investment had grown
to Rs 5 crore. However, when he attempted to withdraw the profits, he was asked to pay a ‘service fee’ of Rs 75.71 lakh. It was only then that he discovered the platform was fake.

“The accused persons cheated the complainant by impersonation using computer sources,” police said.

In the second case, police said a 50-year-old man was duped in a task-based fraud amounting to Rs 20.23 lakh.

The incident took place in April this year. Referring to the complaint, police said the victim was contacted via social media and invited to join a Telegram group named ‘5059 ABRDN TASK GROUP’ to earn profits by performing tasks. On the pretext of high returns, the complainant was persuaded to deposit the amount through multiple transactions in different bank accounts, thereby being cheated.

Both cases have been registered with the Cyber Crime Police Station at Ribandar. Police said further investigation is in progress.