Over 100 People Scammed Of Rs 62 Crore After Investing In ‘Money-Making App’, 2 Arrested

Kadapa police arrested two conmen for allegedly duping more than 100 people into making deposits with the promise of double their money. A total of 23 suspects’ bank accounts totalling Rs 62.5 crore have been frozen.

Four complaints were received at the police stations of Kadapa I Town, Chapadu, Mydukur, and Duvvuru, where victims complained of being deceived by clicking the link in bulk SMS and WhatsApp messages sent from phoney numbers.

The scammers’ strategy was to spread the link of ‘money-making apps’ to the general public. After they clicked on the link, the scammers would offer them to play games or do easy chores in order to double their money.

“In this way, they defrauded over a hundred customers who had placed large contributions into the virtual payment address. By the time the victims realise they’ve been duped, the perpetrators have blocked them from the website and their WhatsApp accounts,” SP K.K.N. Anburajan told the reporters on Wednesday.

The SP revealed the fraudsters’ modus-operandi, saying the two accused sent the URL links to the ‘money making app’ and RCC app to various persons in the district via bulk SMS and WhatsApp.

The con artists enticed them by promising them easy money from the comfort of their own homes. The victims deposited money in the apps in the hopes of double their investment. “If a person deposits Rs 1 lakh, he will be requested to perform three to four transactions every day for which he will be paid a commission. The crooks also promised additional commission if they admitted new subscribers to the app,” the SP added.

The transactions, however, were merely symbolic. “In the end, the victims were unable to obtain either the money placed or the commission promised by the scammers,” the SP stated.

The chain of events came to light only after Ghouse Basha of the city’s Yerramukkapalli filed a complaint, claiming that he had placed Rs 1.30 lakh on the ‘money making app’ with the intention of double his investment.

The cybercrime police discovered that the money swindled from the public had been transferred to other accounts totalling Rs 3 crore. Another victim, Dandu Naga Chaitanya, provided critical information to the police, which led to the arrest of Gokul (28) and Muruganandam (58), both from Tamil Nadu.

Because the two had already been detained by the Dehradun police for identical offences, the Kadapa police apprehended them using a PT warrant, brought them before the local court, and placed them on detention.

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