A 75-year-old man from Colaba, Mumbai was duped over Rs 11.1 crore by cyber fraudsters through a share trading scam. A case was registered with the South region cyber police by the retired ship captain on Monday.
According to the police, the complainant’s mobile number was added to a WhatsApp group that had the name of a prominent financial services company on August 19, 2024. People in group kept posting screenshots of profits. A woman who went by the name of Anya Smith uploaded information on the group and asked fellow members if they were ready to make an investment in the share market through their platform and strategy. As confirmed by the name of the WhatsApp group, the complainant, a regular stock market investor, consented to the woman.
After this, Smith added his name to another group and also shared a link. The complainant clicked on the link and downloaded the company’s app for trading. After this, he started to get messages from Smith and her associates regarding institutional account trading, OTC trading, IPOs, etc., the complainant stated in the FIR.
The complainant was forced to transfer funds to several bank accounts to invest in the stock recommended by Smith and her associates. When the elderly man questioned her about the suspicions surrounding several bank accounts, she explained that this was being done in order to save taxes. Between September 5 and October 19, the complainant sent Rs 11.16 crore in 22 transactions to various bank accounts as directed by the accused persons, the FIR stated.
The man was initially asked to pay a 20% service tax on the amount he had invested. Trusting the company, he complied, only to be met with further demands for additional charges under various pretexts to facilitate the withdrawal of his funds. Frustrated and suspicious, he decided to visit the company’s headquarters to address the issue directly. He was shocked to learn that he had invested in a fraud company.
