One arrested for cyberfraud

Kochi: City cyber police arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with a cyberfraud case where an Ernakulam-based doctor was swindled of Rs 37 lakh in the name of trading by scamsters who befriended him through a matrimonial site.The arrested person has been identified as Abdu Rahman of Thootha in Palakkad. He was nabbed from Delhi. According to police, he was a key figure in the gang that controlled frauds, including digital arrest, from Cambodia.Police said Cambodia is the centre of cyber frauds targeting India. Many Indians work in such fraud gangs controlled by Chinese nationals. Young men and women from India are brought on visiting visas to countries like Thailand and Vietnam and then taken to Cambodia where they are then made to work in such fraud centres. Special training for fraud is given to those who arrive in this manner.Rahman has been working at a fraud centre in Cambodia since 2022. “Although his job initially involved sending messages and making phone calls to victims, his Chinese bosses made him a team leader considering his efficiency. Subsequently, he moved to recruiting people from India,” city police said in a statement.According to police, the racket shifted to matrimonial platforms to find victims after increased awareness of such scams happening through the social media. “On matrimonial platforms, fake profiles are created in the names of women and men to contact other people. After getting acquainted under the pretext of marriage and becoming friends, they are asked to do trading in the name of savings for the future. Since it is requested by the prospective groom or bride and since very high profits are promised, victims often fall for this fraud,” said the statement.Cyber police have already removed more than 1,000 such fake profiles from matrimonial platforms, said police.