Ahmedabad: Cyber fraudsters cheated several people allegedly by creating fake websites in the name of Torrent Pharmaceuticals, one of the country’s leading pharma companies. The scam came to light after the company’s legal manager, Siddharth Kale, lodged a complaint with Navrangpura police on Thursday.
According to the FIR, the fraudsters cloned the company’s branding and launched websites with URLs such as torrenthealthier.com, torrentbiotech.com, and torrentbiology.com.
DrugsControl Media Services tried to search these domains on google. But, these websites could not be traced. It seems that the fraudster has removed these domains from the registry.
These platforms advertised “investment plans” offering unusually high returns on investments. One such pitch read: “Invest Rs 670 and earn Rs 275 daily for a total of Rs 14,025 in 51 days”.
The fake sites were promoted aggressively on social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Telegram, luring unsuspecting investors. The fraud first surfaced when a Surendranagar resident called Torrent Pharma’s official helpline seeking returns from one such scheme.
“We discovered that many others were being targeted through different numbers, all connected to these fake websites,” Kale stated in his complaint.
Police said the fraudsters used the company’s name and logo to gain credibility. “This is a serious case of identity theft where criminals exploited a trusted brand to trap people,” a Navrangpura police officer said.
A case has been registered under provisions of identity theft of the Information Technology Act, and investigators are tracking the digital trail of the accused.
