Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 03 October 2024
A retired defence personnel and businessman, resident of Prothrapur in Sri Vijaya Puram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has fallen victim to an elaborate financial fraud, losing over ₹65 lakh in an online trading scam. The victim, who runs a two-wheeler spare parts shop, was lured into the fraudulent scheme by a woman he had befriended on Facebook.
According to the complaint lodged with the Cyber Crime Police Station, the victim initially received a Facebook friend request on August 15, 2024, from an individual named Keerthy Natarajan. The two began chatting on Facebook Messenger, and eventually moved the conversation to WhatsApp, where the accused convinced the victim of her involvement in a trading business under the name “Barrick Gold Capital.” She claimed to be offering lucrative investment opportunities that promised significant returns.
Trusting her assurances, the victim opened an account in the trading platform, following the procedures outlined by the alleged fraudsters. Over the span of several weeks, the victim made multiple deposits into various bank accounts, with the total investment amounting to ₹65,16,994. The transactions occurred between August 17 and September 27, 2024.
The victim shared details of the 13 transactions with the police, which ranged from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹15.5 lakh, made to different bank accounts as directed by the accused. Despite repeated promises of high returns, the victim did not receive any payments, even after being assured by the company that the returns would be processed on September 30, 2024. The customer care then promised him that his payment would be processed on 01st October 2024.
On 1st October 2024, when the promised funds did not arrive, the victim attempted to contact both the company’s customer service department and Keerthy Natarajan. However, all communication was cut off, leaving the victim unable to reach the accused or recover the funds.
Realising the fraud, the victim promptly reported the case to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal on October 1, 2024. The victim then formally requested the registration of an FIR against the fraudsters, urging the police to take swift action in recovering the lost funds and bringing the perpetrators to justice.