Pune, 19th January 2024: In a distressing incident, a 59-year-old retired engineer from Pune fell victim to an online investment scam, losing a staggering Rs 3.96 crore between October and December 2023. The fraudulent scheme, promising high returns on share investments, led the victim to file a complaint with the Pune cyber police in the final week of December. After thorough verification, an official FIR was registered on Wednesday.
Modus Operandi of the Scam:
Senior Inspector Meenal Patil shed light on the unfolding of the scam. The victim, a former engineer with a prominent automotive company, encountered a suspicious link on his social networking profile in October. Clicking on the link led him to a webpage with a phone number, subsequently adding him to a group on a mobile messaging application.
Patil explained, “The group, managed by cyber criminals, presented themselves as share market experts, enticing members with promises of lucrative profits through share investments. The victim, seeking substantial returns, contacted one of the alleged assistants from the group.”
Deceptive Investment Scheme:
The scammers claimed to have an online application for buying and selling shares. The victim was instructed to download the application. The fraudsters convinced him to invest Rs 10 lakh with promises of a five-fold return. Subsequently, the victim was lured into investing Rs 50 lakh, allegedly resulting in a twenty-fold return.
Instead of utilizing the application’s payment gateway, the criminals provided details of seven different bank accounts, instructing the victim to transfer the money.
Patil revealed, “With a Rs 60 lakh investment, the application showed a supposed profit of Rs 1.76 crore. Believing he had earned a substantial amount, the victim attempted to withdraw the money. However, the fraudsters demanded payments for SEBI fines, various charges, taxes, and additional fees. Falling prey to their tactics, the victim ended up transferring Rs 3.36 crore to seven bank accounts, totaling a loss of Rs 3.96 crore to gain Rs 1.76 crore.”
