Kandivali resident loses ₹1.22 cr in online trading fraud

On August 28, realising that he had been duped, the complainant called the police helpline number and reported the matter, said a police officer

MUMBAI: Police have booked three unknown persons for duping a 47-year-old Kandivali resident and owner of an event management firm of ₹1.22 crore. The accused lured the event manager to open a trading account and invest ₹1.22 crore. Though the app using which he invested the money showed his balance was ₹2.5 crore, he was unable to withdraw any money and approached the police after realising he had been duped, said police.

Kandivali resident loses ₹1.22 cr in online trading fraud

According to the North cyber police station, when the complainant was at home on June 17 morning, he noticed a post on social media regarding tips for investing in the share market. When he clicked on the post, he was added to a WhatsApp group with several members who had shared information about trading in shares and also shared their purported experience including the profits they had made.

The complainant observed the group for over a month, he told the police. On August 19, following the advice of one Raman Verma to open a trading account, he downloaded an app and entered all his details on it including his mobile number, Aadhaar and PAN number. After registering on the app, the complainant invested a total of ₹1.22 crore in four tranches; after every transaction, the amount shown credited to his account on the app registered a significant spike. He was told that the money had been invested in different shares and asked to invest another ₹2.25 crore.

The complainant refused to invest more money as he did not have anything left and asked the frauds to return his money. He was then told that they had obtained a loan in his name and invested the money in new shares.

On August 28, realising that he had been duped, the complainant called the police helpline number and reported the matter, said a police officer. He provided screenshots of his WhatsApp chats and the mobile numbers of the frauds following which the cyber police registered a case against three unknown persons on October 5.