A 58-year-old Central Railway officer posted as manager of a major railway station in Mumbai recently fell victim to an online investment fraud and lost Rs 11.5 lakh after he was promised huge profits through a fake trading app, police said.
The complainant, a resident of Chembur (East), lodged a First Information Report (FIR) last week, alleging that a person posing as a stock market The expert added him to a WhatsApp group called ‘Stock Market Education’ on November 26 last year. There were 130 members in the group, including some who used international numbers, the FIR stated.
A person named ‘Nadir Varma’ was the administrator of the group. He claimed to be an expert on the market and offered guidance on stocks and IPO investments, stated the complainant. Nadir allegedly convinced the victim that he could earn high returns through a trading application called ‘PZENA INV’ that could be downloaded through the Google Play Store.
Later, the scammer allegedly sent a link and asked the victim to download the app and submit his personal documents, including Aadhaar and PAN. The complainant followed the instructions and transferred money from his and his wife’s bank accounts, a police officer said.
The complainant made seven transactions and transferred a total of Rs 11.5 lakh to various bank accounts, the official added. Within days, the fake app showed that the complainant had made a profit of Rs 16 lakh. But when he tried to withdraw the amount he could not do so.
The complainant told police that when he contacted the scammer, he was told to deposit more money. Suspecting that a crime had been committed, the station manager informed some of his friends and realized that he had been cheating. He then approached the cybercrime police station and a case was registered at the Chembur cybercrime police station.
“Greed is the main aspect that makes people fall into cyber fraud. Nowadays, government officials are also becoming victims, especially those who are retired or will retire in a few years. They want to invest their savings where they can earn more to maintain their lifestyle,” said a police officer posted at the cyber police station.
