Udupi faces two major cyber scams
Udupi: The temple town has been rocked by two significant online trading scams, with residents losing a combined Rs. 1.76 crore to fraudsters promising high investment returns. The incidents, reported to the Udupi CEN (Cyber, Economic, and Narcotics) Crime Police Station, have led to the arrest of two suspects in one case, while investigations continue to uncover the culprits behind the second.
In the first case, Tirtharaj Shenoy, 51, from Shivalli village, was defrauded of Rs. 44 lakh between December 19, 2024, and January 7, 2025, after being lured into a Telegram group called “Capital Gains Crew” and later “Fidelity Institutional Partners F-101” by an individual named Adi Nihal.
The groups promoted stock market investments with assurances of substantial profits. Shenoy transferred funds from his and his mother’s bank accounts to various accounts specified by the scammers, only to receive neither returns nor his investment.
Acting swiftly, a special team led by CEN Police Inspector Ramachandra Nayak, under the guidance of Udupi SP Hariram Shankar, Additional SP Sudhakar Nayak, and Assistant SP Dr. Harsha Priyamvada, arrested Shohaib Ahmad, 28, and Mudassir Ahmad, 40, from Mysuru on Thursday. Police seized Rs. 2 lakh in cash and mobile phones linked to the crime, with efforts ongoing to track other accomplices.
In another incident, Henry D’Souza, 69, lost Rs. 1.32 crore to a similar scam reported on September 4, this year.
D’Souza was drawn in by a Facebook advertisement on July 19, followed by WhatsApp messages from a woman named Ankita Ghosh, who added him to a group promoting lucrative trading schemes.
Between July 22, 2025 and September 1, 2025, D’Souza invested Rs. 1,32,90,000, only to be deceived with no returns. The CEN police are now tracing the digital trail to identify the perpetrators behind this elaborate fraud.
