CHENNAI: Timely and efficient coordination between the units specialising in cracking down on cyber crime in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal led to the identification and rescue of a person from West Bengal, who was being exploited by an international cybercrime gang linked to China.

The breakthrough came during an ongoing investigation into an investment scam by the State Cyber Command Centre. The cybercrime team pinpointed "mule accounts" controlled by Chinese scammers. The officials then alerted banks, and together with the bank officials, suspicious accounts were placed under surveillance.

This surveillance flagged a transaction exhibiting patterns that are typical of cyber fraud. The State Cyber Crime immediately froze all linked bank accounts and began a detailed probe. Further investigation revealed high-value international transactions and connections to complaints across multiple states, including an unreported potential victim in West Bengal.

Acting swiftly, the Tamil Nadu team alerted their West Bengal counterparts. West Bengal Cyber Crime Police confirmed that the individual was actively under the influence of fraudsters, lured by promises of high returns into transferring large sums. Based on Tamil Nadu's tip-off, the West Bengal Police registered a case.

"This pre-emptive intervention prevented substantial funds from reaching the international criminals and shielded the victim from further devastating losses," said a senior Cyber Crime officer here. The victim was reportedly on the verge of investing more money into the fake scheme.

Sandeep Mittal, ADGP, Cyber Crime, reiterated public warnings about investment scams, which often start with unsolicited messages promising easy money, lead victims into fake groups with staged testimonials, and pressure them into larger investments via crypto or unofficial channels before the scammers vanish.