A 43-year-old man working in the Naval Dockyard fell prey to scammers and lost over Rs 1 crore in stock investment fraud. The victim could see his earning of Rs 2.64 crore in a trading app he had downloaded on the instructions of the scammers. However, when the complainant demanded his money, the scammers asked him to pay more money.
According to the police, the complainant is a resident of Mumbra. On February 23, the complainant received a WhatsApp message on his phone from an unknown number asking if the complainant was interested in investing in the stock market. The complainant's mobile number was then added in a WhatsApp group where information regarding share market investment was being given.
The scammers then shared a web link with the complainant and asked the complainant to download a trading app through that link. The complainant followed these instructions and began trading through that app. From March 03 till April 30, the complainant transferred Rs 1.09 crore in 19 online transactions in different beneficiary bank accounts.
The complainant could see his profits and earnings of Rs 2.64 crore in the trading app. However, when the complainant tried to withdraw his earnings, his requests were repeatedly denied. He then confronted the scammers and asked them to release his earnings. The scammers asked the complainant to pay more money as taxes to get his money.
Later when the scammers did not return the complainant's money and started avoiding the complainant's queries, the complainant realised that he had been duped. He then raised a complaint in this regard on the cyber crime portal on April 18. A case has been registered in this regard recently under sections 66C (identity theft), 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.
Recently a 61-year-old retired BMC official fell prey to scammers and lost Rs 1.53 crore in shares investment fraud. The victim could see his earning of Rs 7.50 crore in a trading app he had downloaded on the instructions of the scammers.
