Vadodara resident loses Rs 94 lakh in stock market trading scam, 17 arrested

The racket was unearthed based on Rajiv Ramakrishna’s complaint, according to which he was duped of Rs 94.18 lakh by cyber fraudsters who lured him into clicking on a social media advertisement promising big returns from stock market investments. The complaint, filed on March 30, states that the fraudsters added the victim to a WhatsApp group named C6 Blackrock Stocks Pull Up and urged the victim to submit details via a form.

“The victim was then added to another group called C3 Angel Broking Customer Care and received a phone call from a person posing as an executive who informed the victim that his application had been confirmed… They then shared a link of a fake mobile application called ANGELBG that included forged SEBI registration details. The victim was handed over a username and password… The application showed the victim a big profit to gain his trust,” said MM Rajput, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime.

The victim then deposited Rs 94.18 lakh in multiple installments in various accounts. “However, when he was unable to withdraw the profits, he approached the police, realising that he had been cheated,” he added.

Vadodara Cyber Crime stated that of the 17 arrested, 11 had accounts into which the victim had deposited the money that was withdrawn and handed over to the co-accused for smaller commissions. The accused were identified as Abrar Khan Pathan (23), Shahrukh Vohra (25), Gomcy Dave (20), Salim Miya Shaikh (42), Saiyed Iqtiyar (22), Zarar Saudagar (31), Mir Salim (24), Wasim Belim (24), Mohammad Aftab Beg (22), Adnan Shaikh (22), Liyaqat Shaikh (47), Mehboob Ibrahim (22), Shahrukh Dhobi (29), Sahil Shaikh (24), Kabir Mansuri (21), Sohil Shaikh (25), and Ramizkhali Qadri.

The ACP told The Indian Express that the mastermind of the scam is suspected to be based in Delhi. “So far, we have received a complaint from Vadodara. As we are investigating the money trail, it appears to have its roots in Delhi and other states… The mastermind of the racket could be based in Delhi and we are trying to track him down to ascertain how many unsuspecting victims have been cheated so far,” Rajput said.