Two persons swindled of ₹1 crore in the name of online trading in Kozhikode

In two separate incidents in Kerala's Kozhikode district, two individuals have been swindled of approximately ₹1 crore in the name of online trading. According to a report by 'The Hindu', a housewife from Kodanchery lost ₹49.20 lakh, and a farmer from Thiruvambady lost ₹49.10 lakh. The Cyber Crime police and Thiruvambady police have registered cases and initiated a joint investigation into the matter.

According to the police, the housewife from Kodanchery was deceived by being shown a morphed video of Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Facebook. Through this video, she was lured with the promise of high returns in online trading. On the other hand, the farmer from Thiruvambady, who is a former NRI, was trapped through a fake video on YouTube. The fraudsters assured him of high profits in the business of importing medical equipment from abroad, which led him to transfer money into the bank accounts provided by the accused.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the money obtained through fraud was routed through several 'mule' bank accounts and current accounts rented for these operations. Expressing concern over deepfakes and fake videos going viral on social media, the police have appealed to the public to remain cautious of such lucrative offers. The cyber police have also instructed bank officials to monitor suspicious transactions and unusual account activities.

Cybercrime is a type of crime committed through digital media, involving the use of technology for activities such as financial fraud, data theft, or the misuse of social media. In recent times, there has been an increase in incidents where ordinary citizens are targeted using misinformation and edited videos on social media platforms.