Retired bank official loses 64L in online share-trading fraud

Pune: A 66-year-old retired bank official from Kothrud lost Rs 63.56 lakh after cybercrooks promised him handsome returns on share-trading between April and July last year.The Pune cyber police have registered an FIR pertaining to cheating against the online fraudsters on Monday.The complainant had approached the police earlier with a complaint after waiting for almost three months, as the suspects had promised, to receive the returns. After verification, the police now have registered a case.According to the police, the victim's cellphone number was added to a group on a message application where the members were discussing high returns and thanked the admin for his valuable tips on share-trading.Police said the retired officer contacted the group admin because he was keen to earn good money by trading shares and sought the admin's help. The group admin then sent him a link to an online share-trading application. The retired officer started buying shares of lesser value. The group admin then promised to facilitate the purchase of shares and convinced the retired officer to transfer money into four bank accounts."Trusting the group admin, the retired officer started transferring money into their bank accounts. He collectively transferred Rs 63.56 lakh. Within two months, his profit showed a steep rise of over Rs 1 crore. The victim decided to sell the shares, which the fraudsters did not allow him to do," police said.