From solar plant promise to fake legal service: Bengaluru businessman’s Rs 1.62 crore nightmare

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A Bengaluru-based businessman has suffered losses totalling nearly Rs 1.62 crore after falling victim to two separate cyber frauds linked to solar energy investment and fake legal recovery services, according to a TOI report.

The ordeal began earlier this year when the businessman, hoping to install solar plants, encountered an online group claiming to offer such services. Attracted by their apparent expertise, he transferred Rs 1.5 crore in several instalments. However, he soon realised he had been deceived.

In a further setback, his subsequent efforts to recover the lost funds led to another scam. Seeking legal assistance online, he came across a firm named Quickmoto Legal Service, whose representatives assured him they could retrieve his money. Instead, they extracted an additional Rs 12.5 lakh, as reported by TOI.

Bengaluru police launched an investigation following the victim’s complaint and made a breakthrough on Sunday, arresting the main suspect behind the fake legal consultancy. Identified as Tufail Ahmed, also known as Chota Ahmed Mubarak, the 27-year-old, who holds an engineering degree in electronics and communication, allegedly operated a bogus office out of Kasturinagar, east Bengaluru. Police have traced the larger operation to Tufail’s elder brother, believed to be orchestrating the entire racket from Dubai.

Investigators found that Quickmoto Legal Service had no registered presence in Bengaluru. Tufail reportedly used the alias India Legal Service while running a call centre staffed with several tele-callers. These staff members used VoIP technology, specifically the Zoiper-5 platform, to reach out to former scam victims and persuade them to pay hefty sums in hopes of recovering their stolen money, noted a police officer cited by TOI.

The officer added that Tufail, his brother and their associates established multiple shell companies under various names to facilitate such digital cons. Additional arrests are expected, particularly among the tele-calling staff who were privy to the scam’s workings.

Commenting on the case, Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh confirmed the businessman’s complaint via the national cybercrime portal. The probe was led by Central Crime Branch officials, including Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ajay Hilori and Deputy Commissioner of Police Raja Imam Kasim.