Arun 795 Report post Posted December 20, 2006 MoneyControl.com December 20, 2006 at 08:16 “Nothing is impossible... The word itself says I M (am) possible” - this catchy message has resulted in a first-of-its-kind SMS fraud in the city, where two brothers allegedly duped at least 50,000 persons of Rs 2.56 crore. The masterminds behind the fraud, Jaynand Nadar (36) and Jayaraja Nadar (28), owners of a fake company named SMS Media Company, are currently absconding. In September 2006, they floated a company, 'SMS Media Pvt Ltd', and registered it. Attractive promos were then inserted in newspapers and magazines to lure investors. The Nadar brothers even put up a website (www.getpaid4sms.com) to promote their scheme. Those interested were asked to text message the word 'media' to a four-digit number and follow further instructions. “About three months ago, the accused had advertised in some newspapers and messaged random numbers, asking persons interested in earning Rs 10,000 per month to contact them” said Ajendra Thakur, Senior Police Inspector. Interested ‘subscribers’ were asked to deposit Rs 500 each. The accused claimed to be working in collaboration with a US-based company named Aropis Advertising Company, which wanted to market its clients’ products through SMSs. The subscribers received about 10 SMSs everyday about various products and they were promised a commission if they managed to rope in more subscribers by forwarding the messages. In return, Nadars promised to pay Rs 10,000 over 16 months to the investors. This amount was to be paid in installments of Rs 1,000 every few months. The accused also invited people to become 'agents' and get more and more members for the scheme. The agents were promised a handsome commission. Initially, the accused paid up small amounts. But when cheques and pay orders of larger sums issued by the two were not honoured, the agents got worried. On November 28, one such agent approached the D N Nagar police after a pay order of Rs 21.70 lakh issued to him by the Nadars was not honoured. The police lodged an FIR. Within days, eight other agents turned up with similar complaints, and more are coming up everyday. The brothers told the subscribers that their American clients wanted to conduct a study about the local response to their advertisements and were using SMS as it was the newest medium of mass communication. However, the SMSs suddenly stopped on December 10. The ‘subscribers’ then found that the accused had locked their office and disappeared. A complaint was lodged at the DN Nagar police station and police have already recorded the statements of ten persons duped by the duo. “We suspect the fraud amount may be as high as Rs 30 crore. The case will be transferred to the Economic Offences Wing soon,” added Thakur. “The scheme said every month Rs 1,000 will be added to the money you deposit,” says senior police inspector, Pradeep suryavanshi. The accused also enrolled agents who were promised a handsome commission. Police says close to four lakh individuals handed over money to the conmen, but sources say the figure could be much higher, close to a million across the country. “ So the next time someone offers you something so unbelievable, ignore it for your own good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
