Sambalpur: In yet another case of cyber fraud, a man was reportedly duped of nearly Rs 49 lakh in Sambalpur district of Odisha.

The victim, Jefrin Toppo of Pragativihar within Ainthapalli police limits,  has filed a case with police in this regard.

As per reports, Jefrin came across an online trading site called 'In-Ifex.com' on Google on June 22. Curious, he logged into the portal. The website asked for personal details to start an investment while assuring details of easy and quick returns in a stipulated time.

Soon after he opened an account and gave personal details including contact and mail id, Jefrin got a call from an unknown number where a person identified as a representative of the said company  and was asked to pay Rs 69,500 for initial investment. But Jefrin later invested Rs 25,000. However, greed got the better of him and in the subsequent days, he ended up paying Rs 48,80,368  in 12 installments within two months, i.e, between June and July.

When he tried to redeem the amount, he could not do it. Neither could he contact any customer care support for the same.

Suspecting foul play, he reached out to Cyber police and filed a complaint. A case has been registered and investigation is underway, official sources informed.

As cases of online fraud through ponzi schemes continue to rise, the Economic Offence Wing has alerted the public to be aware of such scams and issued guidelines in this connection.