MUMBAI: A defence forces officer who had lost Rs 84 lakh in an online share trading fraud earlier this year was lured by a gang of fraudsters who assured him recovery in the form of profit in share trading. The officer again invested, and ended up losing another Rs 70 lakh.
The police suspect the same group of fraudsters duped the officer on both occasions.
The officer had first lodged an FIR with the south region cyber police in May. In his complaint, he had stated that he received a message about online share trading and was added to a WhatsApp group where other participants exchanged information about buying and selling shares. The complainant was then added to a premium members' group and was given a user ID and password, and his virtual account was opened. The accused persons told the complainant that they would do share trading for him and asked him to transfer money. In more than 30 transactions, the complainant sent over Rs 84 lakh to various bank accounts. When he told the accused that he wanted to sell his shares and get his money back, they delayed acting on his instructions. The complainant then realised he was cheated and lodged an FIR.
After he was cheated a second time, the complainant again approached the cyber police. A police source said that the complainant told them that he was added to another WhatsApp group. The accused posed as officers of the financial investigation team.
"They told him that they knew he had lost money, informed him about the money he had lost, its date and entries. They assured him that they would help him recover his money in the form of profit in share trading. They asked him to invest again. This happened during June to Aug. The complainant again followed the procedure, his virtual account was created, and he sent money to bank accounts given by the accused. When he wanted to withdraw his money, he couldn't withdraw. He lost Rs 70 lakh. We have recorded his statement in the same case and the probe is on," the police source said.
The investigation is being conducted by a team supervised by DCP Datta Nalawade and comprising senior inspector Nandkumar Gopale and assistant inspector Ishan Kharote.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Mateen Hafeez, special correspondent at The Times of India in Mum...
Read MoreMateen Hafeez, special correspondent at The Times of India in Mumbai, reports on terrorism, underworld, cybercrime and organized crime syndicates. He also writes about the jails in Maharashtra and focuses on human interest stories. He has covered the Ghatkopar bomb blast, Vile Parle bomb blast, Mulund train blast, train serial blasts in 2006, 26/11 terror attacks and Pune's German Bakery bomb blast. He has a special interest in Urdu fiction written by Ibn-e-Safi.
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