Thane: 73-Year-Old Businessman Duped Of ₹5.77 Crore In Fake Online Share Trading, IPO Scam

https://youtu.be/SWbj638rt-EA 73-year-old man fell prey to scammers and lost over Rs 5 crore in online shares trading and IPO investment fraud. The scammers promised huge returns on investment and induced the complainant to download two bogus trading apps in which he could see that his earnings had reached a whopping Rs 22 crore. However, when the complainant was unable to withdraw his earnings and got no response from the scammers, he realised that had been duped.

Rs 5.77 Crore Transferred Over 3 Months

According to the police, the complainant, a resident of Thane and is a businessman. In April, the complainant had received a WhatsApp message from a person who claimed to be an executive of a financial securities company. The scammers then asked the complainant if he was interested in stock investment. The complainant was promised 40 percent returns on investment by the scammers. After the complainant agreed to invest, his mobile number was added in a WhatsApp group consisting 129 members where information regarding buying and selling of shares was being discussed.

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WhatsApp Block and App Deactivation Confirmed the Fraud

The scammers also shared two web links with the complainant and asked him to download two trading apps through those links. Thereafter from April 14 till July 14, the scammers induced the complainant to transfer Rs 5.77 crore in different beneficiary bank accounts in 26 online transactions. The complainant could see his earnings of Rs 22.87 crore in both his trading apps. However, when the complainant tried to withdraw the money, his requests were repeatedly denied. The complainant then confronted the scammers who asked him to pay more money.

Cybercrime Complaint Leads to FIR

When the complainant refused, the scammers blocked him from the WhatsApp group and also made both the trading apps non-functional. Having realised that he had been scammed, the complainant raised a complaint on the cyber crime helpline after which a case has been registered by the police under sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 66C (identity theft), 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.