Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Cyber fraudsters duped a 67-year-old man of Rs 3.91 crore by luring him with promises of huge returns through stock market and IPO investments. The accused used a social media advertisement, WhatsApp groups, a fake trading application and forged SEBI registration documents to gain the victim's trust.
Cyber Police officials said Chunabhatti resident Ashok Kumar Sharma (67) came across an investment advertisement on social media in May. Soon after, a woman identifying herself as Ananya Kulkarni, claiming to be an official of a private stock trading firm, contacted him on WhatsApp. She offered investment opportunities under a special plan with returns of up to 200% and shared a fake SEBI registration certificate.
The victim was then added to a WhatsApp group, where he was instructed to download a trading app called FSPL Smart and complete KYC by submitting his PAN details. The fraudsters persuaded him to invest in IPOs, the primary market and stock trading by transferring money to multiple bank accounts.
Between June 11 and July 9, Sharma transferred Rs 3,91,25,538.26 through RTGS and online transactions into multiple bank accounts.
The fraud came to light when the app displayed his investment as having grown to an unbelievable Rs 62.31 billion. However, when he attempted to withdraw the amount, the fraudsters demanded an additional 20% of the displayed amount as processing charges. Realising he had been duped, Sharma approached the Cyber Police, who registered a case against unidentified accused and launched an investigation.
Rs 14.86 crore lost since November
Cyber Police officials said that under the e-zero FIR initiative, 279 complaints were received between Nov 10, 2025, and June 2026, of which 240 cases were registered, involving fraud worth Rs 14.86 crore.
