A 66-year-old retired engineer from Salunke Vihar, Pune, has been cheated of Rs 1 crore by cybercriminals who lured him with promises of high returns on share trading. The fraud occurred between December last year and February.
FIR registered after complaint verification
After verifying the complaint, the Pune cyber police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on Monday.
How the scam unfolded
According to the police, the complainant saw an advertisement in December last year about investing in the stock market for high returns. The advertisement made bold claims of profits that the retired engineer had never encountered before.
The complainant clicked on the link, after which his mobile number was added to a group on a messaging application, police said.
Members of the group posted messages claiming they had earned quick profits through online share trading and thanked the group admin for trading tips, police added.
Victim's background and modus operandi
Senior Inspector Swapnali Shinde of the Pune cyber police told TOI, "The elderly man is a retired engineer. He used to work with a company located on the Pune-Nagar Highway. The victim was impressed by the figures mentioned by the group members and contacted the group admin."
"The admin then sent him a link to an online share trading application. The victim downloaded the application and started buying low-value shares. Later, the admin persuaded him to invest in high-value shares and promised assistance in making such purchases," Shinde said.
"The fraudsters then shared details of seven bank accounts. The complainant went on sending money to them and eventually transferred Rs 1 crore by exhausting all his savings," she added.
