Latest to fall prey: Merchant Navy engineer loses Rs 1.76 crore in share trading fraud

As the complainant made inquiries about the firm they were representing, he was given an address of a legitimate firm in Mumbai. As the complainant checked the website of the firm he found it to be trustworthy. Probe later revealed that the WhatsApp group had nothing to do with the company whose details were given to the complainant.

The complainant was made to share his personal and banking details through a registration form and was made to download a fraudulent share trading application. On the WhatsApp group, fraudsters posing as experts and administrators were sharing details of stocks to invest in. The complainant was given details of fraudulent bank accounts to send money to. Each of his transfers was getting reflected on the fraudulent application along with corresponding high gain.

Between the first week of January and last week of February, the complainant was manipulated into making a total of 20 transactions totalling Rs 1.76 crore for which the corresponding gains shown on the application were Rs 26 crore. He was made to send money to fraudulent mule accounts registered in banks at locations like Shri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir, Purba Midnapore in West Bengal, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Aliganj in Uttar Pradesh, Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Kokrajhar in Assam, Patan in Gujarat and Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

When the complainant sought to withdraw his gains, he was asked to pay seven per cent tax on it. When he asked if the tax could be deducted from his gains, he was told that he would have to pay first. It was at this point he realised that he had been cheated. He subsequently approached the police and an FIR was registered at cyber crime police station on Tuesday.

The Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad police have witnessed a worrying surge in online share trading fraud cases over the past more than one year. Fraudsters employ a variety of baits, including trading tips, virtual lectures, mobile applications, and enticing promises of exorbitant returns. Officials have also expressed concern over citizens continuing to fall prey to these scams in spite of several advistories, sensitisation campaigns and wide media coverage in this regard.

In 2024, the Pune police registered as many 128 cases of share trading fraud in which cheating amount was more than Rs 50 lakh. The number does not include hundreds more in which amounts less than Rs 50 lakh were swindled. In these 128 cases alone, citizens have lost Rs 143 crore. Multiple advisories issued in this regard by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and various other government agencies.