THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A civil engineer, who earlier lost Rs 3.75 crore in a fake trading scam, was defrauded of another Rs 12.95 crore. The money was defrauded from Daniel George, a native of Jawahar Nagar, Kowdiar, through fake trading sites.

Last May, Daniel lost Rs 3.77 crore to a similar scam. The cyber police were investigating this matter. The team was all set to travel to Bengal in search of the accused when Daniel appeared again, complaining that he had lost another Rs 12.95 crore to the fraud. Even while filing the complaint during May, Daniel was actively involved in trading through another site. He kept the information hidden from the police.

The fraud gang collected money from Daniel by contacting him over the phone and WhatsApp. They also sent him links to fake sites. Transactions were made through 78 accounts. Police believe that all the money collected through mule accounts was withdrawn. Daniel was a civil engineer abroad and was into online trading for years.

The gang used devious techniques to give more money to people who invested a meagre amount in their app. It was a trick meant to gain the trust and favour of the novices. They will post fake screenshots of the company's achievements and huge profits through Telegram and other social media apps. As you deposit more money, they will give screenshots showing that you have reached the golden level. With this, people will fall for the trap and gain confidence to invest more money. However, suddenly, the page will go blank, and there will be no more news about the money or the people involved.