Mumbai Police is continuously running on its toes to curb cyber crime and arrest fraudsters. Two people, one of whom is a native of Nepal, were taken into custody by the Colaba police late last week for their alleged involvement in a cyber fraud that was carried out under the guise of offering higher profits on stock investments. The Uttar Pradesh police assisted in detaining the pair of fraudsters identified as Chandra Shekhar, a resident of UP, and Dilip Kumar Chai, a citizen of Nepal, at the Indo-Nepal border.
The pair targeted multiple Indians over the last two years, according to the Colaba police's cyber detection division. A total of 72 complaints have been filed about the incident against both fraudsters until now. Additionally, the police found more than INR 4.5 crore in Shekhar's account. However, a Chinese individual is allegedly the mastermind behind this scam.
A WhatsApp group called "(057) momentum stock camp" was created by Shekhar and Chai. Through this group, they inform gullible investors about the advantages of stock trading and investing. A link to download the "Retail Home" app was emailed to the group members, who could use the fake shares listed on the app to earn quick money. Once the accused received the money and stopped engaging with the complainants, the complainants understood they had been duped. Other team members assigned to call clients have not been taken into custody yet, but soon they will be behind bars.
According to officials, Chai communicated with the Chinese national and gave him access to the Indian business accounts' login credentials, debit cards, cheque books, SIM cards, and other details. He is said to have profited between INR 1 lakh and INR 3 lakh by selling all these details to the Chinese, and he gave Shekhar a cut in exchange for helping them discover other people to establish accounts.
Shekhar and Chai have been charged under pertinent parts of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code, and they have been placed under remand in police custody until April 16.
In another case, South Mumbai’s Cyber Cell arrested two individuals suspected of deceiving a victim out of INR 31.50 lakhs by a similar stock trading method only. They falsely promised investment profits through stock market applications. Avinash Nandalvar (56), a baker at a five-star restaurant in Mumbai, was the victim. He saw he had been duped and reported the crime by calling the helpline at 1930.
In December 2023, Nandalvar saw a Facebook advertisement that promised him large profits on stock market investments. That was the start of the ordeal. Captivated by the proposal, he navigated to the website and found himself invited to multiple Telegram groups, each with about 150 members. An officer clarified, that the group admins provided investment guidance.
The officer said he would invest under their directives. Nandalvar made several stock market investments on January 28, 2024, after being seduced by the accused's claims of making 200–300% profit.
He was also told to create an "institutional" account, which he did by uploading his data on the given webpage. An officer said the victim ended up investing INR 31.50 lakh. Nandalvar ran into difficulties trying to take the money out. The assistants provided inadequate answers, citing ongoing reviews or taxes needed for withdrawal, said a police officer.
When Nandalvar realised he had been duped, he called the helpline, which prompted the police to open a case and file a formal complaint. Two suspects from Bhiwandi, identified as Muhammad Rashid (25), and Muhammad Ansari (24), were taken into custody by the police on April 14. The officer disclosed that the pair was additionally sought after by the North Cyber Cell for an analogous stock market deception.
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