Dehradun: In a shocking incident of crime, cyber fraudsters have defrauded a textile businessman of over Rs 1 crore by posing as financial advisors of a sofa manufacturing firm in Uttarakhand.
The victim has been identified as Jakhan resident Manoj Kumar Agarwal. In his complaint lodged at the cyber police station, the Mussoorie based textile trader said that on March 15, an unknown person added him to a WhatsApp group and introduced himself as a financial advisor of ASK Investment Management Limited, a purported sofa manufacturing company. Agarwal said that some people had also shared screenshots of huge profits on the WhatsApp group.
He said that on March 17, he was added to two other WhatsApp groups with 108 members, who assured that the investment was completely safe. The firm also promised returns within 24 to 48 hours of investing.
The textile businessman said that he fell into the trap of the fraudsters and invested Rs 1.17 crore on different dates between March 17 and April 4. He said that he saw profits on the dashboard, but he could not withdraw the money, adding he was asked to deposit Rs 72 lakh to withdraw the money. The businessman realized that he had been cheated and approached the cyber police.
Ankush Mishra, CO, Cyber Crime Control said that on the basis of the complaint of the victim Manoj Kumar Agarwal, a case has been registered against unknown accused. Also, the accounts in which the textile businessman has transferred the money are being investigated, he said.
