58-Year-Old Retired Man Loses ₹12 Lakh In Online Share Market Scam; FIR Filed

Mumbai: A 58-year-old retired man lost Rs12 lakh in an online share market investment scam. He saw a share market investment video on YouTube, contacted the number provided, fell prey to the scam, and lost his money.

About The Case

The Western Cyber Region filed an FIR against an unidentified individual for alleged cheating. The case was filed on March 19. According to the FIR, the victim, Harishchandra Ovalkar, resides in Andheri East. In November 2024, he saw a video on YouTube related to share market investment. In the description box, a mobile number was displayed. Ovalkar saved this number, sent a message, and asked about share market investment information.

The scammer claimed he was from Indmoney Company and provided some information related to investing in the share market. Subsequently, in December 2024, the scammer added him to a WhatsApp group named ‘Phase 5 Cheetah Plan 1832.’ In the group, the scammer provided information about which shares the members should purchase or sell and other related details. The group admin assured him that he would get a 20% profit if he purchased the shares. Ovalkar trusted him and decided to invest in the share market.

The scammer instructed him to download the ‘INM Velocity’ app, which he did. Following the scammer’s instructions, Ovalkar transferred money from his HDFC and State Bank of India accounts to various bank accounts, such as Bandhan Bank and IndusInd Bank, among others. In total, he transferred Rs 12 lakh. When Ovalkar tried to withdraw his money, he was unable to do so. Consequently, he contacted the group admin, who told him that he needed to pay Rs 5 lakh if he wanted to withdraw the money.

This raised Ovalkar’s suspicions, and he refused. Later, he realised it was a scam and approached the cyber police to register a complaint. The cyber police registered the case under various relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with the Information Technology Act.