CID Arrests Suspect in Tk 1.1 Crore Telegram Investment Scam
A fraud ring has swindled crores of taka by luring victims into fake online investment schemes through the Telegram app. Acting on a complaint, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested Nadim (32), an active member of the gang.
CID’s Special Police Superintendent (Media) Jasim Uddin Khan said on Friday afternoon that the accused was arrested from his residence in the capital on Thursday, December 4.
He said a senior principal officer of a private bank received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. The sender introduced herself as “Nazneen,” claiming to be a representative of the freelancing platform Upwork. She enticed the victim with offers of earning money from home through part-time online tasks. Trusting the proposal, the victim agreed. Initially, the scammers assigned small online tasks, such as YouTube subscriptions, and paid him Tk 150 and later Tk 2,100 through mobile financial service bKash to gain his confidence. He was then added to a Telegram group named @upworkfrontdesk2013, where fake members acted as if they were regularly earning large sums.
“His trust grew further. The fraudsters then told him to invest Tk 2,000 to open a crypto account for larger tasks. Later, they said that by investing an additional Tk 3,000, the balance would increase to Tk 7,000, which he could withdraw. After sending the money, he was added to a VIP task group, where everyone’s crypto account balance was shown as Tk 7,000,” Jasim Uddin added.
When the victim attempted to cash out, he was told to pay another Tk 15,800 as a withdrawal charge. He complied, trusting the process. But when he noticed inconsistencies in the balance and questioned it, the scammers imposed new tasks and conditions. Through repeated false promises of high profits and manipulated account displays, the fraud ring siphoned off a total of Tk 1,10,58,305 through various bank and mobile banking channels.
The victim later filed a case at Lalbagh Police Station under the DMP in May. CID subsequently took over the investigation and arrested Nadim on Thursday. A mobile phone, NID card, and other crucial evidence were seized from him.
DBTech/BT/IK/OR
