Mumbai: Man falls prey to cyber fraud, loses INR 52 lakh

A Goregaon resident fell victim to cyber fraud amounting to INR 52.5 lakh after being persuaded to open a commercial demat account for stock trading profits.

It is suspected that an experienced gang is behind this and the police are investigating the matter through bank transactions. In Mumbai alone, 55,000 people have filed complaints of cyber fraud till the month of November, in which around INR 1,200 crores have been defrauded.

The 52-year-old complainant residing in Goregaon (East) area received a call from a woman named Anamika on September 24. She added the complainant on Grand Enterprises WhatsApp group by giving information about share purchase and sale transaction. There were four admins of that group. She claimed that she was working for Profit Pulse India. Based on the information provided therein, the complainant started trading from his own demat account. He also made some profit.

The accused told the complainant that opening a commercial demat account through him would be more beneficial. An e-mail was also sent in this regard. Finally he was given a customer number. A commercial demat account was opened in the name of the complainant from that number.

The complainant initially deposited INR 5000 in it. After that INR 50k were deposited. Screen shorts were sent to the WhatsApp number of the complainant that they had made a good profit. After that, the complainant started depositing the money as told on the WhatsApp group. At that time, it was noticed that 95 lakh 27 thousand rupees had been invested by the complainant out of 52 lakh 50 thousand rupees.

The complainant requested to withdraw the amount due to good profit. At that time, it was said that 21 percent commission and GST tax will have to be paid. As the complainant got suspicious, he contacted the concerned mobile number but got no response. Finally, he called the cyber helpline 1930 in this matter. Cyber Police registered a case and started an investigation in this matter. The police are investigating the matter through the bank accounts provided by the complainant.