83-year-old Dadar man loses 1.2cr to fake trading portal
Mumbai: An 83-year-old retiree from Dadar lost Rs 1.2 crore to a fake online stock trading platform that he was led to believe was linked to a reputable private financial institution.
The fraudsters convinced him that he had made profits of Rs 15.4 crore.
The complainant was targeted on May 2 after he clicked on an advertisement online, which led him to a WhatsApp group that purported to offer stock market investment tips. The group had 92 members, many of whom turned out to be fraudsters.
According to the complainant, after he joined the group, he was approached on WhatsApp by a woman, who encouraged him to invest in shares via a portal linked to a private financial institution.
The fraudster sent him fake Sebi registration details and guided him through an onboarding process that included filling out a form with his personal and banking information. Soon after, another fraudster approached him, posing as a customer service executive.
Lured by promises of high returns, the complainant made a series of transactions to various bank accounts provided by the two, investing Rs 1.2 crore in all in weeks.
These included a Rs 60-lakh contribution in a fake company's shares. The fraudsters also told the man that he'd be able to take a loan of Rs 20 lakh under the scheme and was shown an investment of Rs 15.4 crore on the fake portal.
When the elderly man sought to withdraw his funds through the portal, the fraudsters demanded a 10% commission before processing the release. After refusing to pay more, the complainant was blocked.
That's when he realised he had been conned and approached the national cybercrime helpline (1930).
Cyber police's central division has lodged an FIR and is tracing the IP addresses of the fraudsters, gathering call detail records, and tracking digital and money trails. Investigators said the scale and structure of the fraud suggest a larger syndicate operating through multiple shell firms and mule accounts, preying on elderly and high net worth individuals by misusing the names of reputable financial institutions.
No arrest has been made yet.
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