A 36-year-old software engineer from Shewalwadi near Hadapsar in Pune lost Rs 2.3 crore between January 26 and March 11 after falling victim to an online share-trading scam that promised high returns.
The Pune cyber police registered a First Information Report on Monday after verifying the complainant's application.
Details of the Scam
Senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of the Pune cyber police stated, "The complainant works with an IT firm in Hadapsar. She has been on leave for the past seven to eight months."
Shinde, citing the FIR, explained, "The woman stated in her complaint that the fraudsters added her cellphone number to a group on a messaging application. The members in the group discussed high returns generated through online share-trading and thanked the group admin for trading tips."
Initial Contact and Investment
The complainant contacted the group admin and expressed interest in earning through share-trading. The admin promised to help her and sent a link to a share-trading application. He asked her to use the application to buy and sell shares. The techie downloaded the app and initially started buying low-value shares.
Later, the admin contacted her and persuaded her to invest in high-value shares and initial public offerings (IPOs). To gain her confidence, the fraudsters allowed her to sell some shares at a profit and even transferred Rs 20,000 to her as returns.
Escalation of Investment
The fraudsters then promised to assist her in buying high-value shares and asked her to transfer money to five bank accounts. As she was at home, the techie used her savings and borrowed from relatives to transfer funds to the fraudsters' accounts. In less than two months, she transferred a total of Rs 2.3 crore to these five accounts.
Fraudulent App Shows Fake Profits
The fraudulent trading application showed a profit of over Rs 4 crore. However, when the techie attempted to withdraw or sell shares, the fraudsters prevented her from doing so.
The police are investigating the case and have urged the public to be cautious of such scams that promise unrealistic returns.
