A resident of Vaishali Nagar in Kotra Sultanabad, under the jurisdiction of the TT Nagar police station, fell victim to a massive online trading fraud, losing Rs 18.34 lakh. Cyber criminals orchestrated the scam by first initiating contact through a popular social media platform. Following a preliminary investigation by the Cyber Crime cell, a zero FIR was registered and subsequently transferred to the TT Nagar police station for formal action. Investigating officers have registered a criminal case against the accused, Tanu Agarwal, under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating, impersonation, and extortion. The victim, Pawan Agarwal, reported to the police that the fraudulent interaction began when a user profile under the name of Tanu Agarwal sent him a friend request on Facebook. After establishing initial contact, the suspect shifted the conversation to WhatsApp, utilising a specific contact number to build intimacy. The suspect gradually convinced Agarwal to become business partners in an online trading venture, promising lucrative daily earnings from the comfort of his home.

 

Once the victim agreed, the suspect provided a malicious trading link and registration credentials to open a fraudulent account. Once the account was activated on the fraudulent website, the platform administrators worked in tandem with Tanu Agarwal to deceive the victim. Initially, Pawan Agarwal transferred Rs 96,000 into the portal. To build false confidence, the suspect claimed to have personally deposited an additional Rs 6,70,000 into the joint portfolio, showing simulated profits exceeding Rs 12 lakh on the dashboard. Believing the profits to be real, the victim was repeatedly coerced into transferring additional funds under the pretexts of clearance taxes, penalty fees, and transaction charges. Under intense manipulation, Pawan Agarwal transferred a total of Rs 18.34 lakh in multiple tranches utilising various banking channels. Financial records show that the victim transferred Rs 4,96,000 from his personal Bank of India account through UPI and NEFT.

 

He made further transfers of Rs 2,78,023 from a State Bank of India account, Rs 6,40,000 from the Bank of India account of Amrapali Restaurant, and Rs 4,00,000 from a Punjab National Bank account. The fraud came to light when Pawan Agarwal’s withdrawal requests were blocked, and the operators demanded an additional Rs 7,22,000 as a processing fee. When Pawan Agarwal refused to deposit more money, Tanu Agarwal changed her tactics, initiating a campaign of intense psychological harassment. The suspect began calling the victim repeatedly, threatening to have him subjected to a digital arrest by federal agencies for alleged financial irregularities. The suspect also demanded that Pawan Agarwal return the Rs 6,70,000 she had allegedly invested on his behalf, threatening legal ruin if he did not retract his initial police complaints.