A city doctor has fallen victim to an online scam, losing ₹36 lakh.
The incident occurred after the doctor saw an advertisement for a money-investment platform on social media, and was subsequently added to a WhatsApp group that provided “investment advice”.
The state CID arrested a movie producer and entrepreneur from his apartment off EM Bypass, who, police said, is the “key beneficiary” of the siphoned amount. The arrest was made on Wednesday, police said.
According to the complaint lodged by the doctor, he had come across an investment platform named “5paisa Capital” that claimed to provide legitimate financial services.
“The victim was initially lured through an advertisement on Facebook, which redirected him to a WhatsApp group under the guise of providing stock investment tutorials. Subsequently, he was persuaded to invest over two months through ten separate transactions,” said a senior officer of the cyber police station of the state CID.
“During the investigation, we found that out of ₹36 lakh that had been defrauded, ₹18 lakh was transferred to a company named The Local Brand Shop,” an officer said.
The proprietor of the firm, Prosenjit Ranjan Nath, 34, who had also produced films, was allegedly identified as the key beneficiary of the proceeds of crime and arrested from his apartment at Madurdaha along the Bypass at Anandapur.
“We are trying to find out who else was involved in the fraud. We will also check the transactions in the beneficiary bank accounts to find out if more siphoned-off money has been transferred into this account,” said an officer of the state CID.
Senior officers of the state police said it was always advisable to avoid any financial transactions on platforms whose leads emerge from social media.
“Social media platforms do not have any checking mechanism. They allow anyone to display their advertisements who pays the stipulated revenue. Many such advertisements are fake and are designed to trap people into online scams,” said a senior police officer.
In this case, the complainant, a doctor from Barasat, had fallen into the trap and invested money in parts, hoping for high returns. However, he realised the fraud only when he tried to withdraw the money, but was denied access to his one investment account.