Elderly man loses ₹70 lakh after falling for lure of huge returns on share market

He was lured into a WhatsApp group and also made to download an app for trading in US and Indian stock. When the app showed a significant profit and he tried to withdraw that amount, he was asked to deposit an additional ₹25 lakh as commission. Later, his access to the app was blocked

A 70-year-old Noida resident was allegedly duped of ₹70 lakh by online fraudsters who promised him huge returns on his investment in the share market, the police said on Tuesday, adding that the victim realised he had been duped only when he tried withdrawing the “profit” he had earned in the last two months.

A case under sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating and dishonesty) of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act was registered at the cybercrime branch police station on Monday. (Getty Images/iStockphoto?representational image)

Police said the complainant was identified as Sudesh (goes by a single name), a resident of Sector 27, Noida. In his complaint, Sudesh said in April, suspects posing as representatives of an investment company contacted him on WhatsApp and offered to provide stock trading information. They invited him to join a group where the suspect promised him trading sessions and an opportunity to invest in Indian and US stocks, he said.

The suspect also offered him bulk shares at a discount.

“I was offered access to discounted shares through bulk purchases and guaranteed profits through secondary market sales... believing them to be legitimate representatives, I joined the group, where hundreds of members were already added,” complainant said in the FIR.

Later, he said he was provided a link to download a mobile application for investing in Indian and US stock markets. Initially, he invested ₹1,000 and received an email about the investment, said the police.

“In the past two months, the victim invested ₹70 lakh through the app provided by the suspects. However, when the app showed a significant profit and he tried to withdraw that amount, he was asked to deposit an additional ₹25 lakh as commission,” said a senior police officer, asking not to be named.

When Sudesh requested that the commission be deducted from his “profit”, his access to the app was blocked.

Subsequently, he approached the cybercrime branch to file a complaint. “A case under sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating and dishonesty) of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act was registered at the cybercrime branch police station on Monday, and further investigation is underway,” said Vijay Kumar, station house officer, cybercrime branch.

Recently, a 41-year-old businessman from Noida was allegedly duped of over ₹9 crore by cyber criminals who made him invest the money in bogus share market deals after promising fruitful returns. Later, police arrested two suspects, Akram alias Sam alias Lauki (28), and Sushil Kumar (45), both residents of Bareilly, for the alleged crime.