The City Cyber Crime Police have arrested a youth from Kerala for defrauding a physiotherapist from Palayamkottai to the tune of over ₹14 lakh in the guise of giving attractive salary for ‘online jobs’.

Police said a stranger who had contacted physiotherapist Kishore, 24, of Perumalpuram in Palayamkottai in December 2024 through social media message introduced himself as the human resources manager of a private firm and asked him if he was interested in doing “online jobs” and promised a ‘salary’ of ₹8,000 a day for the work assigned to him. After crediting small amounts of rupees in several instalments for the ‘completed work’, the stranger asked Mr. Kishore to invest in a particular scheme for earning more.

Lured by it, Mr. Kishore reportedly invested ₹14.75 lakh in various instalments through the account number mentioned by the stranger and did not get any returns as promised. When he inquired about it, he could get only Rs. 12,000 and he was asked to invest more to get his investment back with ‘attractive bonus’.

Realizing that he had been taken for ride, Mr. Kishore filed a complaint with Tirunelveli City Cyber Crime Branch, who identified one Krishna, 24, from Ernakulam in Kerala as the stranger who lured the physiotherapist to invest.

Krishna was arrested and remanded in judicial custody on Saturday.