A 75-year-old retired ship captain from Colaba in South Mumbai was tricked into losing INR 11.16 crore by cybercriminals through a fake share trading scheme.
The incident occurred after the complainant was added to a WhatsApp group August 19, 2024. The group used the name of a well-known financial services company. A woman in the group, identifying herself as Anya Smith, shared stock market-related posts and asked members if they were interested in investing. The complainant, an active stock market investor, agreed to participate.
Smith provided a link and added the victim to another group. The complainant downloaded a trading app from the link. After this, he received messages from Smith and others about investment options like institutional account trading, over-the-counter trading, and IPOs. They convinced him to transfer money to several bank accounts to purchase shares they recommended.
When the complainant raised doubts about sending money to multiple accounts, Smith explained it was to save taxes. Between September 5 and October 19, the victim transferred INR 11.16 crore in 22 transactions to different accounts. He was reassured by the trading app, which showed credited amounts and profits in his account.
When he tried to withdraw the profits, his request was denied. He contacted Smith, who told him he needed to pay a 20% service tax. Despite paying the tax, he was asked for more money to cover additional charges. At this point, the complainant realised he had been cheated.
He visited the financial services company’s headquarters, only to find out that the app and the group were fake. He then approached the cyber police and lodged a complaint.
On Monday, November 25, the cyber police in Mumbai’s South region registered a case in connection with the fraud. An FIR has been registered against two unidentified individuals under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology (IT) Act. Police have launched an investigation into the case.
The accounts used for the transactions were traced to banks including UCO Bank, ICICI Bank, Canara Bank, Bandhan Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, and Catholic Syrian Bank. These accounts are located across cities such as Bhopal, Bandra, Nagpur, Surat, Hyderabad, Ghazipur, Lucknow, Banaskantha, Howrah, Bharuch, Bhilai, and Jaipur. Investigators are now working to gather the beneficiaries’ details.
The cyber police have urged the public to call the national cybercrime helpline at 1930 if they suspect fraud.