Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Cyber Crime Police Station, Goa, has detected two major cyber fraud cases, leading to multiple arrests in connection with a fake investment scam involving ₹69.75 lakh and the operation of an illegal international call centre in Old Goa.
In the first case, registered as Crime No. 24/2025 on August 13, 2025, the Cyber Crime Police arrested a 62-year-old man from Kerala for his involvement in a fake investment scam that duped a resident of Porvorim of ₹69.75 lakh.
The accused allegedly impersonated a reputed investment firm using a WhatsApp number and a fake trading application named “360-ONE-HNW,” luring the victim with promises of high returns.
The complainant was falsely informed that his investment had grown to ₹5 crore and was asked to pay a service fee to release the profits, resulting in substantial financial loss.
Following a detailed technical and financial investigation, police arrested Prasantha Bose A, a resident of Kalamassery, Ernakulam. Investigations revealed that ₹46 lakh was credited to his bank account at the first layer, which was later routed to multiple associate accounts.
Police further found that the same account was linked to 23 other cyber fraud cases across several states, involving a total fraud amount of ₹2.10 crore. The accused has been produced before the court and remanded to police custody.
In the second case, the Cyber Crime Police conducted a late-night raid at Bainginium, Old Goa, on December 12, 2025, and busted an illegal call centre targeting citizens of the United States.
The offence was registered under Crime No. 46/2025. Seven accused persons were caught red-handed while impersonating loan company agents under the name “Payday” and cheating victims by inducing them to pay money through gift cards such as Apple, Sephora, Macy’s, and others under the false pretext of providing instant loans. Police seized six laptops and four mobile phones during the raid.
All seven accused, hailing from Gujarat, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and other states, were arrested and produced before the court, which remanded them to police custody.
Both operations were carried out by teams of the Cyber Crime Police Station, Goa, under the supervision of SP Rahul Gupta, IPS, and ASP B.V. Shridevi, IPS. Further investigation in both cases is in progress.
