Coimbatore jeweller loses 47 lakh to online fraudsters

Coimbatore: A 45-year-old city-based jewellery workshop owner was cheated of Rs46.9 lakh by online fraudsters who lured him with a promise of high returns through share market investments.Police said the victim, who runs a jewellery workshop at Chokkampudur near Selvapuram, accepted a Facebook friend request from an unknown woman in March. "After chatting with him for a few days, she claimed to be a widow and introduced him to online stock market trading stating that she was earning huge profit from it." Later, his phone number was added to a WhatsApp group, where members regularly discussed buying and selling shares of various companies. An unidentified person from the group then contacted the jeweller and persuaded him to invest in the stock market for high returns. Believing them, the jeweller transferred Rs46.89 lakh in several transactions between March and April to various bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. However, the jeweller neither received the promised profits nor was he able to withdraw his principal amount. When he tried to contact the woman on Facebook, her profile and contact details were not accessible. Realizing he had been cheated, the jeweller lodged a complaint with the city cybercrime police, who registered a case on May 15 and initiated an investigation to trace those behind the scam.