Representative image of online scam.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: Two businessmen and a private firm employee lost a combined Rs 9.54 crore in three separate online stock trading scams in Bengaluru in the past week, officials say.
While businessmen Ramit Goel, 50, and Raman Kumar, 51, were conned out of Rs 6.56 and Rs 1.38 crore, respectively, Ramila S, 45, an engineer at a private firm in Bengaluru, lost Rs 1.60 crore.
The names have been changed to protect identity.
All three lost the sum in the similarly designed online trading scam, where victims are lured into investing large sums of money in exchange for unrealistic gains and early access to Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).
The three were first added to WhatsApp groups ('JJ77 Investing in India' and 'G3364 MAIN PULL UP LAYOUT EXCHANGE GROUP') by the unidentified suspects. Here, tips on investing in the stock market were shared. Next, the three were urged to invest and download apps to trade the stocks.
According to the police, Goel downloaded the ECAUSE-WAY app, while Sahoo installed the UNION APP through third-party links shared by the scamsters. In Ramila's case, she was asked to fill out a Google form with details for an ATA (Advanced Trading Account) with 'Julius Baer'. The original Julius Baer Group Ltd is a Switzerland-based private banking corporation.
Next, based on directions and stock tips provided in the groups, the three started transferring the money.
"The victims were hooked as the apps they downloaded showed the trades making massive gains," a senior officer overseeing one of the cases told DH.
Between September 8 and October 23, Goel transferred Rs 6.56 crore to 14 bank accounts provided by the suspects. Kumar wired Rs 1.38 crore to 10 accounts between September 24 and October 23 and Ramila sent Rs 1.61 crore from August 12 to October 18 to six bank accounts.
Only Ramila received Rs 1.10 lakh as 'gains' during the initial days of the con, which the police believe was a coy to keep her hooked. The rest, however, received no returns on their investment.
Based on Goel’s complaint, a case was registered by the Central CEN crime police on October 24. The Whitefield CEN crime and the Cyber Crime police station in the commissioner’s office registered the cases on October 22 and 24 based on Kumar and Ramila’s complaints, respectively. Further investigation is ongoing, police said.