One held for duping man in Kerala of Rs 86 lakh in online trading scam

Kottayam(Kerala), Aug 29 (PTI) A 33-year-old person has been arrested for cheating a man of Rs 86 lakh by making him believe he can make huge profits through online share trading, police said on Friday.

According to police, the accused added the victim, a Kottayam native, as a member in a WhatsApp group with the promise that he could make profit from online trading.

Initially, the victim's deposits earned a small profit. Later, the accused, an Ernakulam native, asked the victim to deposit large sums to earn a bigger profit.

Believing the accused, the man deposited Rs 86 lakh in several installments.

The accused had claimed that the profit share of the deposited amount would be shown in the online virtual account, and it would take 14 to 21 days to withdraw the same, police said.

However, when the victim did not receive the amount even after the said period, he grew suspicious and informed the police.

The accused, who had been traveling across the state and committing fraud, was arrested by the Kottayam Cyber Cell after a 10-day long investigation, focusing on his various mobile numbers, police said.

Although there are 8 similar cases against the accused in various states, this is the first time that he has been arrested, it said.

The accused was produced in court and remanded to judicial custody, it added. PTI HMP HMP ROH