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Bengaluru man loses Rs 5.95 crore in online trading scam linked to fake investment platform
The victim was deceived by a fraudulent digital dashboard showing artificial profits of up to Rs 50 crore before realising he had been swindled.
The police have begun a probe into the fraud case (File photo for representative use).
A 50-year-old man from northwest Bengaluru lost Rs 5.95 crore in an elaborate online investment scam involving a fraudulent trading platform and people posing as investment advisors, the police said Monday.
According to the complaint, the victim was initially introduced to an online trading platform called ‘PU Prime’ through acquaintances who spoke about investment opportunities in online markets. As he was unfamiliar with trading, he began searching for guidance and came across a woman named Shilpa Shivakumar on Google and Facebook.
The police said the accused later established contact with the victim and offered to guide him in trading in exchange for a profit-sharing arrangement. He was then directed to register on a fraudulent platform, allegedly presented as being meant for Indian traders.
The victim stated that once he began trading on the platform, his dashboard reflected “substantial profits”, and he was initially allowed to withdraw small amounts, which increased his confidence in the system.
To verify the platform’s legitimacy, the victim also allegedly opened another account without informing the accused, which also showed apparent profits, further convincing him that the system was genuine.
Thereafter, the accused allegedly persuaded him to continue investing larger sums, including funds from his and his wife’s accounts, leading to total transfers of Rs 5.95 crore.
After realising that he had been cheated, the victim approached the cybercrime police station and lodged a complaint.
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“The accused continuously persuaded me to increase my investments by highlighting the substantial profits reflected in my trading account, which ultimately showed profits amounting to approximately Rs 50 crore,” the victim said in his complaint.
The police registered a case, and further investigation is underway, an officer said.
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