A 62-year-old man has fallen prey to scammers and lost Rs52.94 lakh in 45 online transactions in over a month in shares investment fraud.
According to the police, the complainant is a resident of Panvel. On September 16, he received a phone call from an unknown person who inquired with the complainant whether he was interested in shares trading. Despite the refusal, the scammer added the complainant’s number in a WhatsApp group where information about buying and selling of shares was being discussed.
Other members of the said group were sharing screenshots of their profits and earnings and ‘experts’ providing online lectures for prospective investors. After the complainant showed interest, the scammers shared a link with him. On clicking the said link, a bogus trading app was downloaded on the complainant’s phone. Between November 1 and December 24, the complainant ended up transferring Rs52.94 lakh in multiple online transactions, in different bank accounts on the instructions of the scammers.
The complainant could also see his profits of Rs2 crore on the app but could not withdraw it despite repeated attempts. Later when he confronted the scammers, they asked him to pay more money as taxes to withdraw the money. Having realised that he had been duped, the complainant approached the police.
