Kozhikode (Keralam), Nov 12 (PTI) A 45-year-old woman allegedly lost Rs 49.2 lakh in an online trading fraud after being lured by a fake Facebook video featuring Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here, police said on Thursday.
The Kozhikode Rural Cyber Crime Police registered a case on Wednesday following a complaint filed by the woman, a resident of Maikkavu in Thamarassery.
According to the police, the complainant came across a fake video featuring Sitharaman on Facebook, in which she purportedly claimed that online trading could generate high returns.
Believing the claims, the woman clicked on a link accompanying the video and began investing in online trading as instructed by the fraudsters, police said.
Between July 15 and September 22 this year, she transferred a total of Rs 49.2 lakh from her accounts with the State Bank of India and Puthuppadi Service Cooperative Bank to various bank accounts provided by the accused, police said.
However, the accused neither returned her investment nor paid the promised profits, following which she approached the police.
The cyber crime police registered a case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.
Police said they were tracking the bank accounts to which the money had been transferred and that efforts were under way to freeze them.
They said AI-generated videos featuring union ministers purportedly promoting investment schemes had been circulating on social media platforms, and that advisories had been issued repeatedly warning people against falling prey to such cyber frauds. PTI TBA SSK
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