An Army doctor serving in Pune lost Rs 1.2 crore in online share trading fraud to cybercriminals who led him to believe his entire earnings would amount to Rs 10 crore. The cybercriminals had promised him large returns in stock market trading on a WhatsApp group he had joined.
Army doctor, in his 30s, who works at a Pune defence firm submitted a complaint, which led to the registration of a First Information Report at the Pune City police Cyber Police station. The complainant allegedly made around thirty transactions totaling Rs 1.22 crore between the third week of July and the last week of August, according to the formal complaint.
The complainant was added to a WhatsApp group in mid-July via a link that was emailed to him, per the FIR. It is said that the administrators of this forum talked about several ways to invest in the stock market and earn large returns. After some time, he was forced to download a stock trading program on his phone, which the investigation has since shown to be a phony website.
The complainant was forced to make many transactions to bogus bank accounts after logging into this program. His investments on the app, which displayed correspondingly large gains in relation to the total amount sent, were all of these fund transfers. The bogus software claimed that the complainant had gained Rs 10.26 crore after making nearly 35 payments over the course of 40 days, totaling Rs 1.22 crore. When the complainant attempted to withdraw his gains at this time, he was informed that his earnings would be frozen unless he paid 5% of the income, which amounted to more than Rs 45 lakh. The complainant requested the registration address of the platform from the WhatsApp group managers and declined to perform the transfer. An address from New Delhi was given to him. He realized he had been duped when he examined the location and discovered that no such platform operated from that address.
He registered an online complaint on the Cybercrime helpline and subsequently an FIR was registered at Cyber police station of Pune City police. “We have launched a probe into the contact numbers and bank accounts used in the crime,” said an officer.
An Air Force veteran and a Navy veteran lost a combined Rs 1.3 crore in separate share trading scam instances that were reported to Pune City police in August. The two veterans were connected to WhatsApp groups that promised great profits on stock investments, and they were tricked into making significant payments to phony accounts.
In an advisory issued in this regard on February 26, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said, “Fraudsters are enticing victims through online trading courses, seminars, and mentorship programs in the stock market, leveraging social media platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram, as well as live broadcasts. Posing as employees or affiliates of SEBI-registered Foreign Portfolio Investors, they coax individuals into downloading applications that purportedly allow them to purchase shares, subscribe to IPOs, and enjoy “Institutional account benefits”—all without the need for an official trading or Demat account. These operations often use mobile numbers registered under false names to orchestrate their schemes.”
Also read: Unveiling the Ethical Imperatives: Navigating the Intersection of AI and Cybersecurity
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