Representative image indicating a scam.
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The director of a private company in Bengaluru has lost a whopping Rs 6.54 crore after scamsters convinced him of a ‘1,500 per cent return’ to his investments through a fake online stock trading app.
Senior police officers believe this is among the largest sums lost by an individual victim to the trading scam in the city this year. Last year, a retiree from western Bengaluru had lost Rs 9.14 crore to the notorious ‘FedEx’ scamsters.
Ramesh Kumar (name changed), whose company manufactures semiconductor LED drivers, lamps and displays, used to trade in stocks through his demat account, browse the internet and follow YouTube channels for tips and updates. On August 11, the 56-year-old received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number to join a group for “classes” on trading and investment.
He was added to ‘NUUAMA ELITE GROUP’ on WhatsApp by one Aniketh Nerkar.
For nearly a month, he attended online classes, where tricks and trades of investments in the stock market were being shared, as per the FIR.
Some of the investment tips shared in the groups hit the mark, according to an officer.
“This is one way the scamsters convince the potential victims,” a police officer told DH. “We have learnt that the tips they offer will be on the stocks that are already on the way up or have the potential to go up the following days.”
Kumar was also surprised to see “success stories” being posted on the WhatsApp group and was allegedly told he would get a “1,500% return on his investments”.
“These people who post the screenshots of their gains are planted by the scamsters to psychologically convince the victim that the scheme is genuine. The same happened in this case,” the officer said.
Kumar then began sending the scamsters money after installing an app for making trades, the link of which was shared by scamsters. Till October 14, he wired Rs 6.54 crore to 12 bank accounts.
“All this while, the app showed simulations that Kumar was making crores of rupees in gains through his investments in stocks and initial public offerings (IPOs),” the police officer quoted previously said.
When the time came for withdrawal, Kumar was asked to pay Rs 2.5 crore as fees. This led him to file a complaint with the cybercrime police on October 16. A team led by Tanveer SR, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Northeast CEN), is probing the case.
“The investigators have begun freezing the primary (first beneficiary) bank accounts and tracing the money trail,” a senior officer said, adding that all accounts used in this case were “mule accounts”.