Senior healthcare firm executive loses ₹76 lakh to online stock trading con

According to the police, the complainant was added to two WhatsApp groups in April called “802-Upstox official stock community” and “952-Counterattack Core” where members discussed companies and investing in the share market

MUMBAI: A 56-year-old vice president of a healthcare firm lost ₹76 lakh to cyber fraudsters who duped her into investing money via a phoney online trading app with the lure of lucrative returns.

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According to the police, the complainant was added to two WhatsApp groups in April called “802-Upstox official stock community” and “952-Counterattack Core” where members discussed companies and investing in the share market. After monitoring the groups, she realised the investment tips they were giving were real.

The woman then approached the admin of one of the groups, who shared a link to download an app on her phone that resembled Upstox, an online trading platform. After installing the app, two representatives from the WhatsApp groups provided her with information about investing in stocks. She then started investing in IPOs and buying shares through the app as per the advice shared.

After investing ₹76,11,412 in one and a half months, the woman noticed she had made a profit of ₹1 crore. However, when she tried to withdraw the money, she was not able to do so. When she asked the group admins about this, she was advised to invest ₹3 lakh more in the app. She then suspected foul play and started requesting them to refund at least her principal amount, but did not get any response.

On June 30, the woman told her daughter about what had happened. After inquiring, her daughter informed her that cyber fraudsters had cheated her. The mother and daughter then approached the West Zone cyber police station in Bandra Kurla Complex. Based on their complaint, a case was registered against the unknown cyber fraudsters, said a police officer.

In a similar case, a 53-year-old manager working with a prominent manufacturing firm lost ₹51 lakh in June this year after being lured to invest in the stock market. He had tried to withdraw some of the ₹26.95 crore that had seemingly been credited to his virtual account, but was asked to pay ₹80.55 lakh as a commission. That’s when he realised he had been duped.