Teacher’s family duped twice in cyberfraud, loses ₹45 lakh in fake investment scam

A 35-year-old school teacher, whose family had earlier suffered substantial financial losses in cyberfraud, has once again fallen victim to online scamsters, losing ₹45 lakh in a fake investment scheme while attempting to recover her family’s financial losses.

According to a complaint lodged with the East CEN Police, the teacher, a resident of Kamaraj Road, stated that her husband had previously been cheated in cyberfraud, leaving the family under heavy debt. To repay the earlier losses, they had availed a gold loan and were searching for investment opportunities that promised better returns.

In November 2025, the couple came across an online investment application through social media. The operators of the application assured them of exceptionally high returns. Believing the claims, the couple obtained additional personal loans and transferred money from the husband’s bank account to various beneficiary accounts specified by the fraudsters.

Between November 2025 and February 20, 2026, they allegedly transferred ₹45,00,000. When they later attempted to withdraw their investment and promised profits, they found themselves unable to access the application, while all contact numbers of the operators had been switched off or blocked.

Realising that they had been cheated, they registered a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. However, the complainant stated that due to mental stress and work pressure, she could not approach the police immediately to lodge a formal complaint.

Based on her complaint, the police registered a case on Friday and initiated a probe to identify the fraudsters, trace the money trail, and take appropriate legal action.

Further investigation is under way.

The case serves as a reminder that cybercriminals often target victims with promises of unrealistic returns, and even individuals who have previously experienced online fraud can become victims again when attempting to recover earlier financial losses, a senior cybercrime investigator said.