Woman Loses Over ₹45 Lakh in Sophisticated Online Investment Scam
Mangaluru: A 48-year-old woman has lost more than ₹45 lakh to an online investment scam, prompting a police investigation in Mangaluru. She filed a complaint with the CEN police station after realizing she had been deceived.
The incident began on August 2, when the woman received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. The message contained a link that promised high returns on investments. After clicking the link, she was added to a WhatsApp group called “F9 Indian Market Forum,” which shared attractive advertisements related to the stock market.
Following instructions from the group, she registered on an application named “CERBER INV.” This led to her being added to a second group, “Investment Alliance Elite Group B3.” In this group, members were pressured to “recharge” their accounts by transferring money with the promise of high profits.
The woman was directed to contact a person named “Riya,” who provided details of various bank accounts. Between September 9 and September 25, she transferred a total of ₹45.10 lakh in multiple installments to these accounts.
The scammers then demanded an additional ₹33 lakh from her. When she tried to contact the group administrators to inquire further, she discovered the group had been deleted, and she could no longer reach them. Realizing she had been cheated, she reported the matter to the police, who have since filed a case and started an investigation.
