Mumbai: A 54-year-old teacher from Andheri has fallen prey to a cyber fraud, losing over ₹49 lakh to scammers who lured her with promises of high returns from stock market investments. The victim has filed a complaint with the West Region Cyber Police Station.
The woman, who teaches students through online tuition, received a WhatsApp message on April 2 from a woman identifying herself as "Kaliya," a representative of a company named "Ashika Stock Broking." Kaliya introduced the victim to another woman named "Jisha Gangwani," who then sent her a link. On clicking the link, the teacher was added to a WhatsApp group with 101 members already present.
The group regularly posted stock market tips and claimed that investing in IPOs would yield significant profits. Over time, the fraudsters convinced the victim to invest ₹49,26,500 in multiple installments. However, when the teacher asked to withdraw her supposed profits, the scammers started making excuses and delaying responses. Realizing something was amiss, she finally approached the cyber police and lodged a formal complaint.
Initial investigation reveals the scammers used fake identities and company names, leveraging social media and messaging apps to trap victims with the illusion of credible investment opportunities.
Cyber officials have urged the public to exercise caution when receiving unsolicited investment advice from unknown sources and to verify the authenticity of companies before making any financial commitments online.
