Kerala businessman loses Rs 7.55 crore in online trading scam

The cases of online investment scams are on the rise in India. In the past few months, a number of individuals have lost lakhs and crores in these scams in the hope of getting high returns on their money. While the cases are being reported from across the country, in what is said to be one of the biggest online financial frauds in Kerala, a businessman from Cherthala has lost Rs 7.55 crores within a span of two months while investing in an elaborate online share trading investment scam.

Just like the other cases we have been seeing related to the online investment scam, in this case too, the victim was lured into investing money by scammers he got into contact with online. The fraudsters introduced themselves as representatives of reputed financial firms Invesco Capital and Goldman Sachs and offered him a golden opportunity to invest in a supposedly lucrative share trading scheme, assuring him of substantial returns, reports The Hindu.

Convinced by their professional demeanour and the promise of hefty profits, the businessman fell for the lucrative offers and started investing as told. After the initial investment, reportedly, the fraudsters provided the victim with a fabricated statement showing that his internal equity account had accumulated a whopping Rs 39,72,85,929, which included the returns on his investments. Encouraged by this apparent success, the businessman was then persuaded to increase his investment to Rs 15 crores to further boost his returns.

However, things took a turn when the businessman decided not to invest the additional amount. As soon as the victim denied investing more, the tone of the fraudsters changed dramatically. They informed him that his internal equity account had been frozen, creating a sense of urgency and panic. To unfreeze the account and withdraw his investments, the scam artists further demanded another Rs 2 crores from the victim and even threatened him with legal action if he failed to do so.

Realising he had been duped, the victim later approached the police. The case is under investigation, and the police have issued a stern warning to the public to remain vigilant against such online scams. The authorities are urging individuals to conduct thorough research before making any financial commitments online.