Premium

How ChatGPT alert helped Bengaluru retiree avert further losses in ₹67.1 lakh fake IPO ‘scam’

According to FIR, persons posing as representatives of IIFL Wealth Management approached the victim, a resident of Binnypet, in November under the promise of facilitating “pre-IPO allotments in sizable quantities.”

2 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jan 7, 2026 12:01 PM IST

The complainant began checking the firm’s background using ChatGPT and was alarmed to discover that this was a fraudulent organisation and that there were a lot of complaints against it. (File Photo)

A response from ChatGPT — an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot — helped a 77-year-old Bengaluru retiree prevent further financial losses after he was duped of ₹67.10 lakh in a fake stock market investment scam.

According to the First Information Report filed on January 3, persons posing as representatives of IIFL Wealth Management approached the victim, a resident of Binnypet, in November last year under the promise to facilitate “pre-IPO allotments in sizable quantities.” After being persuaded to sign an agreement, he was asked to make an initial deposit of ₹5 lakh, the police said.

The complainant was subsequently informed that he had been allotted 150 shares of ICICI Prudential AMC, which showed a profit of ₹80,000.

Encouraged by this, the victim was asked to invest again, this time ₹23.10 lakh, for another Initial Public Offering (IPO). Though he complied, he was allegedly allotted 2.24 lakh shares at ₹45 each, far exceeding the quantity he had sought.

When he expressed his inability to pay for the excess allotment, the scammers offered him a loan of ₹36.79 lakh at a 13 per cent interest rate, on condition that he repays ₹42 lakh, the police said. The victim agreed to the arrangement.

On January 1, he was instructed to sell the 2.24 lakh shares at ₹125 per share, which showed a paper profit of nearly ₹2 crore. However, when he requested that ₹40 lakh be released to him and the loan amount adjusted from the proceeds, the request was refused, the FIR said.

“This is when the complainant got alarmed and started investigating their background in ChatGPT. Complainant was shocked to discover that this was a fraudulent organisation and had a lot of complaints against it,” the FIR filed at the Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS), Bengaluru, noted.

Story continues below this ad

The police have registered a case under the provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, Section 66C (punishment for identity theft) and Section 66D (cheating by personation using a computer resource) and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s (BNS) Sections 318(4) (cheating & dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 319(2) (cheating by personation (pretending to be someone else).

Further investigation is currently underway, said an officer.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Loading Taboola...