Matunga bizman duped of ₹63 lakh by cyber frauds

A businessman in Mumbai was duped of ₹63 lakh by cyber frauds after investing in the stock market via an app he saw on social media.

Mumbai: A businessman from Matunga was duped of ₹63 lakh by cyber frauds after investing in the share market via an application ‘F Win T’ he saw an advertisement for on social media.

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According to the police, the 27-year-old complainant lives in Matunga East and runs an advertising firm with his brother. The complainant claimed that he had come across an advertisement while using his Instagram account about the stock market and clicked on a link that connected him to a WhatsApp group. A person claiming to be Saurabh Mukharjee added him to the WhatsApp group ‘F WIN T investor Club’.

For a few days, he read the messages shared on the group where other people shared about their profits earned in the stock market. The victim also showed his interest in investing in the market, and the fraudster then shared a link with him, asking him to download an app from the Google or Apple store, ‘F Win T’.

The victim downloaded the application and opened a trading account by adding his and the bank account details.

He transferred ₹50,000 in the trading account and saw a good profit on the stocks he bought. He even withdrew some of the investments and profits from the account, which happened in that period. He saw good returns in his portfolio and invested again. The victim invested ₹50 lakh, which showed good returns, and when he tried to withdraw, he got a message that the order was locked. So, he contacted Banerjee, who advised him to invest more in the stock, and they will unfreeze his account.

The victim invested more, and his total purchased stock reached ₹63.50 lakh. When he tried to withdraw the money again, he got the same message that his account was locked. Again, he contacted Banerjee who demanded ₹5 lakh from him to unfreeze the account. He got suspicious and tried to convince him many times, but they did not listen and started avoiding his calls and messages, so he realised he was cheated. He then approached the police station and registered a case against the mobile number holder. The Matunga police recorded his statement and registered a case on January 26, and an investigation has been started to trace the culprit, said a police officer.