Retired Gail Officer Duped Of ₹28 Lakh In Fake IPO Investment Scam; Fraudsters Used A Fake WhatsApp Group And Fake Trading Platform

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A retired official of GAIL India Limited has lost Rs 28.14 lakh in a cyber fraud after being lured into investing through a fake IPO trading scheme.

The victim, Premlal Radhelal Kapse, a resident of Bhopal, had invested his retirement savings hoping to secure his post-retirement future, said Misrod police on Friday.

According to police, Kapse was added to a WhatsApp group named Amansa Investment Limited on April 28, where fraudsters posed as successful investors and shared fabricated screenshots showing massive profits.

A woman identifying herself as Aishwarya Patel allegedly convinced him to register on fraudulent trading platforms and invest in IPOs and stocks.

Believing the scheme to be genuine, Kapse transferred Rs 28.14 lakh through multiple transactions, including investments of Rs 15.05 lakh in Goldline Pharma, Rs 9.15 lakh in SIMCA, and Rs 1.36 lakh in KISSHT IPO, besides additional payments through another portal.

The fake trading dashboard later displayed profits exceeding Rs 67 lakh, further convincing the victim of the legitimacy of the investment.

However, when Kapse attempted to withdraw his money, the operators blocked the request and demanded an additional 20% of the displayed profits as service tax.

Realising he had been cheated, Kapse lodged a complaint on the National Cybercrime Reporting portal.

Police station in-charge Ratan Singh Parihar said that following a preliminary inquiry by the cyber cell, a case had been registered against unidentified accused under sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to cheating, impersonation and extortion.

Police are now tracing the beneficiary bank accounts, examining transaction records and investigating the WhatsApp group administrators to identify the fraudsters behind the scam, Parihar added.