Mumbai: A 36-year-old woman residing in the coastal area of Uttan near Bhayandar became the latest target of cyber-fraudsters who duped her of Rs 11.76 lakh under the guise of offering tips which could be used to reap lucrative profits in stock trading.
In her complaint to the police the woman stated that she came across a reel posted on a social media platform related to share trading. Once the complainant clicked the link she was directed to an unknown WhatsApp group where she was lured to invest by offering free trading tips to buy and sell stocks.
While interacting with one of the admins on her personal WhatsApp number the woman was asked to install a trading application provided by the fraudsters for earning huge profits. The woman fell prey to the evil designs of the fraudsters and transferred a total of more than Rs 11.76 lakh to specified bank accounts via ten transactions within a span of 20 days between 16, April to 5, May this year.
Although the application displayed that her investment had fetched a profit of nearly Rs 45 lakh, the complainant was unable to withdraw the money. She contacted the admin who told her that the withdrawal was possible only if she pays Rs 16 lakh as 30 percent towards taxes. When the complainant refused, her number was blocked and she was removed from the group.
Realising she was cheated, the woman registered a complaint at the Uttan coastal police station, following which an offence under the relevant sections of the IPC and Information Technology Act was registered against the cyber crooks last week. Further investigations were on.
