Bhubaneswar: The Cyber Crime Unit of state’s Crime Branch (CB) Wednesday arrested three directors of two fintech companies on charges of duping a man of Rs 54.75 lakh on the promise of providing high returns last year. Crime Branch sources said Sumit Kumar Das and Amiya Ranjan Satpathy of Bargarh in Western Odisha and Sidharth Satpathy of Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, have identified themselves as directors of two fintech companies and committed the crime. Sumit and Amiya were directors of PayInc, while Sidharth was the director of Fynpe.
A victim of the cyber fraud May 5, 2023, reported that he had received a WhatsApp call from a stranger lady, engaged by the two firms, suggesting to subscribe to a YouTube channel for earning money. The victim frequently received messages enticing to invest money for high returns. Lured by the scheme, he started paying the money believing that he was making investments and was trapped by the fraudsters. The complainant deposited more than Rs 54.75 lakh between May 6 and May 23 last year to get high returns. When the fraudsters pursued the victim for more and more money without any return, he reported the matter to the cyber police of Crime Branch.
On the complaint, cyber police registered a case under Sections 419, 419, 467, 468, 471, 120B and 34 of the IPC and Section 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and started an investigation. “Online verification of the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal of Ministry of Home Affairs has revealed that apart from this case, 26 complaints from different parts of the country have also been registered against the registered bank account of Fynpe and 18 against the registered bank account of PayInc. The Cyber Crime Unit of the CB has cautioned citizens to exercise necessary precautions while engaging in online investment activities and also to verify the authenticity of entities offering financial services. The CB appealed to citizens that if they encounter any suspicious online activities or become victims of any kind of cyber fraud or crime, they should immediately report such incidents by dialling 1930 (Cyber Crime Helpline) or logging on to www.cybercrime.gov.in and registering their complaint without delay.