a day ago
'Rs 2.6cr in profits, just pay tax': Naval Dockyard staffer duped of Rs 1.09 crore in WhatsApp share trading scam
A Naval Dockyard employee from Thane lost ₹1.09 crore to cyber fraudsters through a deceptive share trading scheme initiated on WhatsApp. Lured by promises of high returns, the victim invested in fake platforms, witnessing inflated profits.
THANE: A Naval Dockyard staffer lost over ₹1.09 crore to cyber fraudsters who lured him into a fake share trading scheme through WhatsApp groups. The police said that the 45-year-old victim, a resident of Diva (East), was added to multiple WhatsApp groups by unknown numbers promising high returns through share market investments.
The scammers created elaborate fake trading platforms and showed inflated profits of ₹2.64 crore in his account to gain his confidence.
The fraud began when the complainant started receiving promotional messages on WhatsApp about lucrative share trading opportunities. "He was gradually added to several groups where other members appeared to be making huge profits," said a police officer from Mumbra station. The victim was then provided with web links to open trading accounts and asked to transfer money to various bank accounts over several months.
"The fraudsters created fake dashboards showing his investments grew to over ₹2.64 crore. When he tried to withdraw money, a group administrator named 'Shruti' demanded additional payments for taxes and commission," the officer added. Despite making these additional payments, no funds were credited to his account.
The complainant grew suspicious when the scammers kept demanding more money under various pretexts and stopped responding to his queries.
"After waiting for over a week without receiving any money and facing new excuses daily, he realised he was cheated," police said.
The victim has now filed a complaint with Mumbra police and the
cyber crime
portal, providing mobile numbers, fake account links, and bank account details used by the fraudsters. "This appears to be a well-organised racket using WhatsApp to target victims with fake trading platforms. We are tracing the digital footprints and bank accounts used in the fraud," said the investigating officer.
Police have advised citizens to be wary of unsolicited investment offers on social media platforms and to verify the credentials of trading platforms before investing money.
Follow more information on
Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here
. Get
real-time live updates
on rescue operations and check
full list of passengers onboard AI 171
.
