Greater Noida: Retired BSF DIG duped of ₹34 lakh in share market fraud

He was convinced by scammers posing as stockbrokers to invest in what they promised were guaranteed profit-yielding trades

A 62-year-old former deputy inspector general (DIG) of the Border Security Force (BSF) was allegedly defrauded of ₹34 lakh in April after being lured into a bogus stock market investment scheme, police said on Saturday.

On April 4, when he grew suspicious of the scheme and attempted to withdraw his funds, he discovered that his account had been frozen. (Representative image)

According to police, the victim, Pramod Kumar Anand, a resident of Greater Noida, was convinced by scammers posing as stockbrokers to invest in what they promised were guaranteed profit-yielding trades.

“In his complaint to police, Anand alleged that in March, he was added to a WhatsApp group that was made to share stock trading information. He received information about guaranteed profit by investing in the stock market,” said a police officer, adding that the fraudster posed themselves as a genuine stockbroker and gave him a website name. The website used by the fraudsters is currently under investigations, officers, aware of the case said.

After checking the website and finding it appeared authentic, Anand followed the instructions provided by the scammers.” Anand opened a bank account on the advice of the fraudsters and began trading on March 4, 2024, initially investing ₹5 lakh,” said a police officer. “He received a profit of ₹24,532 from his initial investment, which encouraged him to continue investing.” The victim had received profit through his investments multiple times, said police.

Vivek Ranjan, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) at the Cybercrime Branch, revealed that over a month, Anand transferred a total of ₹34 lakh in multiple transactions. However, on April 4, when he grew suspicious of the scheme and attempted to withdraw his funds, he discovered that his account had been frozen. Three days later, on April 7(YEAR?), Anand filed a complaint with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP).

“Following his complaint, we have managed to recover ₹8.5 lakh,” said ACP Ranjan, adding that a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology (IT) Act at the Cybercrime Branch police station. “Efforts are underway to recover the remaining amount,” he added.