Daijiworld Media Network
Mangaluru/Udupi, Feb 5: Two separate cases of online financial fraud, involving online trading and credit card misuse, have been registered at police stations in Mangaluru and Udupi, with victims losing more than Rs 25 lac collectively.
In the first case, registered at the Mangaluru North police station, a man has alleged that he was cheated of Rs 23.10 lac on the pretext of earning high profits through online trading. According to police, the complainant came into contact with a person named Mohan Patil on Facebook on December 11, 2025.
“On Facebook, he introduced himself as Mohan Patil and claimed that he had 15 years of experience in online trading in the United States and that he had authored a book titled ‘Stock Market Winner’. Based on his advice, I joined a WhatsApp group, where he provided guidance on earning profits through online trading,” the complainant stated in his complaint, police said.
As per the accused’s instructions, the complainant transferred money in instalments to different bank accounts between January 12 and January 31, 2026, amounting to approximately Rs 23.10 lac. The trading app later showed that the balance in the complainant’s account had increased to Rs 47 lac.
“When I attempted to withdraw the amount, the account was blocked. I was then told that I had to pay another Rs 18 lac to unblock the account. It was at this point that I realised I had been cheated,” the complainant stated. Based on the complaint, police have registered a case and initiated an investigation.
In a separate incident, a case has been registered at the Udupi city police station regarding a Rs 2 lac fraud carried out using a credit card one-time password (OTP). The complainant, Satish (41), a resident of Udupi, had received a credit card on November 10, 2025, but had not used it.
On December 20, when he visited the bank, he discovered that Rs 2 lac had already been utilised from his credit card account. Despite not using the card and not generating a PIN, the accused allegedly obtained the credit card OTP through online means without his knowledge and carried out the fraudulent transaction.
Police have registered cases in both incidents and are investigating.