The Central Cyber police have arrested a 46-year-old hotel employee for assisting in an online fraud scheme. The arrested accused Muzaffar Shaikh allowed another fraudster, the main accused still at large, to use his bank account to receive Rs45 lakh defrauded from a businessman. While Shaikh is in custody, the main accused remains at large.
The scam began in October 2023 when a businessman received a WhatsApp message from a female sender posing as an online share trading employee. She induced him to invest the money.Shaikh added the businessman to a Telegram group discussing share trading, providing a link, login ID, and password.
The businessman initially received Rs56,000 as a ‘profit’, encouraging further investment. This led to a total of Rs85 lakh in the businessman’s account, a combination of initial investments and fictitious profits.
When attempting to withdraw his earnings, the businessman faced obstacles and was coerced into making additional payments for supposed tax on profits. Suspecting foul play, he approached the police after the online portal displaying his digital wallet vanished, and he was removed from the Telegram group.
The investigation led to the arrest of Shaikh, who had turned off his phone and relocated to evade authorities. The police revealed that the fraudsters used Shaikh’s bank account to receive Rs2 lakh, and five more bank accounts belonging to other people were involved in the scam, collectively holding Rs10 lakh. All six accounts have been frozen.
