A 60-year-old woman from Matunga was allegedly cheated of more than Rs 2.2 crore by cyber fraudsters who lured her into investing in a fake stock trading and IPO platform.
According to the complainant, a homemaker who earns her livelihood by conducting knitting classes, was lured into investing a total of Rs 2,20,60,400 between March and May this year. On May 27, the cyber police received a complaint regarding this matter and the investigations are underway in this matter.
Fake WhatsApp group
According to the Central Region Cyber Police, the victim was added to a WhatsApp group named “Quantifying Wealth Trends” on March 1 this year. The group featured discussions on stock market trading and investment opportunities. Police said the woman was later contacted by a person who claimed to represent a firm — GSA CAP and told her that investing in the stock market through the company would yield substantial profits.
Rs 50,000 bait
The accused initially asked her to invest Rs 50,000 and sent her a link to download a mobile application. The accused also created a virtual trading account in her name that displayed growing profits, strengthening her trust in the scheme, a police official said.
Invest for profit
The accused convinced her that larger investments would generate higher returns. As her confidence in the platform grew, the woman also opened a trading account in her son’s name. The app allegedly showed that her account contained nearly Rs 11 crore, while her son’s profile reflected close to Rs 10 crore in profits and holdings.
VIP membership
When the woman couldn’t withdraw her money she contacted the accused, who told her that the withdrawal request would take three months and demanded an additional Rs 15 lakh for a faster payout through a “VIP membership”. Realising that she had been cheated, she lodged complaints on cybercrime helpline (1930).
Case filed
Based on her complaint, the cyber police registered an FIR against unidentified persons under provisions of the Information Technology Act and the BNS related to cheating, impersonation, and cyber fraud. Further investigations are underway, said police.
* This article was originally published here
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