Scammers cheat Delhi man of Rs 22 lakh through fake trading schemes; 3 held

New Delhi, Nov 4 (PTI) Three men have been arrested for allegedly duping a man of around Rs 22 lakh through a fake investment and trading scheme, after being inspired by webseries, police said on Tuesday.

The accused Prabhat Vajpayee alias Amanda (22), Mohammad Abas Khan (24) and Arpit Mishra alias Professor (25) , were part of an organised cyber network running investment scams through social media groups, they said.

According to police, the three learned about online scams through web series and replicated similar methods to cheat people.

The case came to light on October 1, when the complainant Rohit (32), a resident of Gokalpuri in northeast Delhi, filed a complaint alleging that he was cheated of Rs 21.77 by fraudsters posing as representatives of a reputed financial services firm, a senior police officer said.

Rohit further alleged that the accused added him to a social media group that offered stock market investment advice and lured him into investing in a “Direct Market Account” with promises of high returns, he said.

After multiple transactions, when the complainant tried to withdraw his profits, the fraudsters froze his account and demanded more money on the pretext of unlocking his funds, the officer added.

A case was registered and bank details, phone records, and technical footprints of the suspects were analysed. Based on the leads, two of the accused – Prabhat from Ghaziabad and Abas, hailing from Imphal East in Manipur – were arrested, police said.

They said 11 mobile phones, 17 SIM cards, 32 debit cards, and other materials were seized from them.

During interrogation, the two revealed the identity of their associate Arpit, from Rajasthan’s Jaipur, who was later traced and arrested from Siliguri in West Bengal, police said.

Three mobile phones and several SIM cards were recovered from his possession, they added.

Further investigation is underway to trace other members and financial trails, the officer said. PTI SSJ SSJ OZ OZ