Bengaluru (PTI): Two people have complained to the police here that they have collectively lost about Rs 95 lakh to cyber fraudsters after they fell prey to fake videos allegedly featuring two top businessmen.
In both the cases, the complainants didn't check the authenticity of the alleged videos and ended up clicking some suspicious links which led them to fake websites created by fraudsters to cheat people and make money on promises of giving them higher returns, they said on Monday.
"As per the complainants, only after investing in these social media platforms they realised that the alleged videos featuring Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani were used to get them to suspicious links and without any due diligence on their part, they ended up investing only to realise that they were cheating using fake videos of such personalities," a senior police officer said.
In the first case, a resident of Banashankari here came across a video promoting a trading platform promising high returns on investments, police said.
According to the woman, she clicked the link on some suspicious looking website and shared her details with the alleged platform. Later, she received a call from the an unidentified man, claiming to be an agent associated with the alleged platform convincing her to make investments for higher returns.
Initially, she invested around Rs 1.4 lakh and got returns of Rs 8,000 and when she invested Rs 6.7 lakh from the second time, she did not get any returns and lost the invested amount as well, a senior police officer said.
In a similar manner, she also got cheated of Rs 67 lakh with another platform, police said.
In the second case, a retired employee fell victim to a video on a social media platform promoting a trading platform promising higher returns on investments, the officer said.
He lost Rs 19 lakh after he transferred the amount to two different bank accounts shared by the alleged fraudsters. But once the amount was transferred, he did not get any response, he said.
"It could also be so that the fraudsters must have used videos of these personalities which was meant for their general body meetings or for stakeholders and misused the same to cheat gullible people. Trusting the alleged videos, they landed in trouble by clicking on such fake websites created by fraudsters to trap gullible people," the officer said.
Two separate cases have been registered at CEN (Cyber Economic and Narcotics) South police station and an investigation is underway to track the culprits involved in the scam, police said.
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Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
