In one of the largest single cases of cyber fraud reported in Pune, an 85-year-old retired industrial consultant, who has been ill for the past six months, lost a staggering amount of Rs 22 crore in a stock trading scam that ran between October last year and January this year. The victim was led to believe that his profits from the alleged investments had increased to around Rs 45 million.
A first information report (FIR) has been registered based on a complaint filed by the 85-year-old Gurugram native, who has been staying with relatives in Pune for the last six months due to health problems. Between October 25 last year and January 10 this year, the victim lost Rs 22 million from his and his wife’s bank accounts, including his life savings and profits from the sale of his property and business in the past.
According to the complaint, on October 25, the victim was added to a WhatsApp group called ‘Special Training Team,’ where administrators and participants discussed various share market investment opportunities. He was asked to provide personal and financial details and forced to register on a fraudulent mobile app.
The cyber fraudsters then posed as group administrators and stock market Experts began sharing what they claimed were stock trading tips. The scammers provided false investment details along with bank account numbers to which the money would be transferred. Every transaction made by the whistleblower was reflected in the fraudulent application, showing disproportionately high returns. These fabricated returns, which were shown to be several times the amount invested, repeatedly enticed him to transfer more money.
Over a period of almost three months, the complainant transferred Rs 22.03 crore in around 80 transactions to mule accounts. Against the total “investment” of Rs 22 million, the fraudulent application showed profits of Rs 45 million. When the complainant tried to withdraw the amount, he was asked to pay Rs 4 million as income tax. That’s when he realized he had been cheating. He later approached the Cyber Crime Police Station along with his son, after which an FIR was registered.
For more than two and a half years now, police in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have been warning of what cyber investigators describe as an epidemic: a worrying rise in fraud cases in online stock trading. Scammers use a variety of baits, including trading tips, virtual conferences, mobile apps, and promises of exorbitant returns. Police officials have expressed concern that citizens continue to fall victim to such scams despite repeated warnings, awareness campaigns and extensive media coverage.
In a notice issued last year, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said: “Fraudsters are luring victims through online trading courses, seminars and mentoring programs in the stock market, taking advantage of social media platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram, as well as live streaming. Posing as employees or affiliates of SEBI-registered foreign portfolio investors, they convince people to download applications that supposedly allow them to buy shares, subscribe to IPOs and enjoy ‘Institutional account.’ benefits’, all without the need for an official trading account or Demat. These operations often use mobile numbers registered under false names to orchestrate their plans.”