CERT-In Alert Citizens Against Fake Trading Apps; Citizens Lost ₹4.4 Crore To Frauds In February 2024

Mumbai: The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has recently issued an alert for citizens warning them about the scammers duping people using fake trading apps. The scammers use fake trading apps to dupe the victim by inducing them to invest in stocks by promising large profits and sharing fake profit screenshots.

Last month, the Cyber Crime Police of Mumbai had registered at least eleven cases in which scammers had duped citizens collectively to the tune of Rs 4.40 crores.

According to the police, the scammers first publish their investment schemes on social media platforms and induce the victim to join a WhatsApp group providing information on stock trading.

The victims are then asked to download a trading application on their phones and are asked to invest money in the stock market through the said app. The victims are then induced to buy shares of various companies and the victim could see their earnings in the said app.

However, when the victim tries to withdraw the said money, he/she are being asked to pay more money if they want to withdraw their earnings. After having learnt that they had been duped, they approach the police to get an offence registered in the matter.

The cases are registered under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using genuine a forged) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 66C (identity theft), 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.

"Avoid downloading apps from third-party stores, websites, ads or through links received in social media posts/chats/SMS. Download applications only from trusted sources like legitimate websites or authorized app stores. Properly verify the app details in the developer's website or app stores before downloading it. Always provide only the necessary permissions required for functioning of any app. Before granting any authorization, carefully read the privacy statement. Never share your login information of financial apps with anyone. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication in all sensitive information related apps. Pay attention to reviews and comments of the users, before installing any applications. Examine the app's promises and schemes carefully. Report cyber frauds and cyber crimes to 1930 immediately or visit https://www.cybercrime.gov.in," the alert stated.