Mumbai: A newspaper distributor lost Rs9.8 lakh in an online stock market trading scam, police said on Thursday. According to the FIR, Mangesh Yadav, 34, lives in Dandpada, Khar (West). On October 23, 2023, he came across a share market training reel, containing a link for those interested in receiving free training from Richard Stock Investment Academy to click it. Yadav clicked the link and joined a WhatsApp group for free training.
Subsequently, Yadav dropped a message requesting study materials and the WhatsApp group admin shared PDF files. Guided by the group's advice, Yadav began investing in Indian markets. A fraudster posing as an employee of the academy messaged the group, claiming there were no profits in Indian shares. He suggested investing in foreign markets using the JTFSE app and provided screenshots of the other members purported profits. Other fake members also claimed to have profited.
Yadav Borrowed Money From Brother & Friend
Believing them, Yadav installed the app and created an account. Initially, he invested R.30,000 via JTFSE app and transferred Rs1,000 from his profit to his State Bank of India account. Seeing substantial profit on the app, he decided to invest more. Borrowing Rs9.8 lakh from his brother and friend, he invested it via the app. He saw a profit of Rs20.1 lakh on the app. When Yadav attempted to withdraw Rs1.99 lakh but received no response to his request on the app. He sent messages to admin and she also did not reply. When he tried contacting WhatsApp group members, most were unreachable, and four members confirmed they had not invested in the foreign stock market.
Realising he had been scammed, Yadav filed a case against two people at Khar station on December 31.
