3 days ago
Kerala E-Book App Scam Costs Over 100 Victims ₹1.25 Crore
More than 100 people in Kerala say they lost money through an app called NTL App.
The app promised users money for reading e-books every day.
It also offered extra money to people who brought in new members.
People had to pay fees to join, ranging from ₹1,800 to several lakh rupees.
The app showed earnings, but these were only virtual amounts.
Some users received payments at first, but the payments later stopped.
The app eventually stopped working, and many people complained to the police.
Police are investigating whether the suspected local organizer was connected to a larger network, possibly involving the UK.
More than 100 people in Kerala allegedly lost a combined ₹1.25 crore in an NTL App scam.
Participants paid entry fees ranging from ₹1,800 to several lakh rupees.
The app promised ₹25 for each e-book read and commissions for recruiting members.
Victims said payments initially arrived but later stopped, and the app became inaccessible.
Police suspect the scheme may be linked to a larger network involving operations centred around the UK.
- Who
- More than 100 victims, a suspected organizer named Sanofar, Vithura police, and cybercrime officials.
- What
- An alleged task-based fraud using the NTL App, which promised money for reading e-books and recruiting members.
- Where
- Kerala, with many reported cases in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, and some in Malappuram and Kozhikode.
- When
- The report does not specify when the scam began; users were told withdrawals would be available on Wednesdays.
- Why
- The scheme allegedly collected membership fees by displaying virtual earnings and promising payments for completed tasks and referrals.
Key facts
- Reported victims
- More than 100 people
- Reported loss
- ₹1.25 crore
- Application used
- NTL App
- Entry fees
- ₹1,800 to several lakh rupees
- Promised task payment
- ₹25 per completed e-book
- Withdrawal schedule
- Wednesdays, according to the app
- Police action
- Vithura police filed an FIR and handed details to the cyber cell
Quotes
A police official
Police official explaining the app’s recruitment-based commission structure
“There are people who invested lakhs into this scheme. From what we learnt, the scamsters used the details of a US company to cheat us.”
businesstoday.in
“We suspect the role of some operations centred around the UK. We have filed an FIR and handed over details to the cyber cell, ”
businesstoday.in
Sources
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