MADURAI: Four men hailing from Kerala were arrested by the Thoothukudi Cyber Crime cops and recovered some of the lost money in an online fraud. The accused have been identified as A Vinith (33), M Nikil Kumar (30), K Alaavi (39) and M Riyas (32). They are from Malappuram, sources said.

They were arrested on charges of defrauding a 41-year-old Kannan from Thoothukudi to the tune of Rs 34,07,570 last year. Investigations revealed that Kannan was cheated by the fraudsters on the pretext of offering a part-time job online. Kannan contacted them on a WhatsApp number and he was asked to provide ratings after accessing a link that was sent on his cell phone.

Kannan received some amount initially and then he was allured to invest in a private company and was assured of high margin in return. After clicking the link he received on his cell phone in December 2023, Kannan lost Rs 34,07,570 from his two bank accounts in 11 bank accounts of the fraudsters in several installments.