Dubai-based Keralite loses ₹2.11 crore in alleged forex trading scam run through Telegram

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An expatriate from Kochi in Keralam has been allegedly cheated of more than ₹2.11 crore in an online forex and stock market trading scam after falling prey to a fraudulent investment platform operated through Telegram groups and a fake trading website.

The 41-year-old from Rayamangalam in Kunnathunadu, currently working in Dubai, allegedly lost the money after an unidentified gang fleeced him after impersonating as associates of a stock market intermediary. The Ernakulam Rural Cyber Crime Police have registered a case based on a petition filed by the victim’s friend.

The First Information Report was registered on November 11 under Section 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66(D) (cheating by personation using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act.

The victim was allegedly lured by an online advertisement for a company named ‘Handtec Markets’ in October. The company claimed to be a stock market intermediary and promised substantial returns through a special trading strategy, with little to no losses. He was then added to a Telegram group and the fraudsters convinced him to invest by claiming that they dealt only in high-return stocks and boasted a track record of delivering substantial profits to investors. He was then given a link that took him to an allegedly fake forex trading platform and was provided with a user ID and password to access his account.

The website displayed a trading dashboard resembling a genuine stock market platform. He claimed to have transferred money in multiple instalments to several bank accounts shared by the operators through a Telegram channel linked to an Indian mobile number, says the FIR.

However, he was unable to withdraw his ‘accumulated profits’ and the operators turned incommunicado leaving him with neither the promised returns nor his original investment. Police have issued notices to banks concerned to collect details of at least four bank accounts involved in the alleged scam. They are suspected to be mule accounts used for organised cybercrime network. The police suspect the involvement of a north Indian cybercrime syndicate, though the identities of the accused are yet to be established. The Telegram channel, the web links and the fake trading portal are also being examined to track down the accused.