CHENNAI: A stationery store owner in Villupuram was among two men arrested by the Avadi City police for acting as mule account holders to cyber scammers. A Coimbatore couple was also arrested last week in a similar offence.
A 38-year-old resident of Govarthanagiri in Avadi had lost Rs 64 lakh to cyber scammers and filed a complaint. Following this, the cyber crime wing of Avadi city police initiated investigations.
He was lured by a message he had received on WhatsApp, in which the fraudsters mimicked a stock trading platform and promised exponential returns on his investments. Believing them, the victim had ended up investing Rs 64 lakh in the platform. The victim realised he was scammed after he discovered that his 'profits' could not be transferred to his bank account, and the fraudsters demanded a few more lakhs to facilitate the feature allowing the transfer.
A team headed by Inspector S Muthukumari followed the digital trail and traced the bank accounts to which the victim's money was routed and arrested the accused, Don Bosco Arulappan (31) of Tindivanam and Suresh Kumar (39) of Uthukottai.
Arulappan is a BSc graduate and runs a stationery shop in Tindivanam, while Suresh is a Diploma holder and runs his own business. Both the accused had willingly given their bank accounts to the cyber fraudsters for a commission, police investigations revealed.
Last Week, the Avadi City police arrested a Coimbatore couple, P Senthilkumar (46) and S Susheela (40), a nurse, who acted as agents for cyber fraudsters and collected bank accounts from unassuming labourers and college students, promising them a commission.