14 May,2026 11:03 AM IST | Mumbai | Aishwarya Iyer
Representation picture
A 78-year-old retired State Bank of India (SBI) bank employee from Mulund and a 31-year-old private tutor from Kanjurmarg allegedly lost a combined Rs 64.94 lakh in two similar cyber fraud cases that exposed the growing sophistication of fake online investment rackets operating through WhatsApp groups, fabricated trading dashboards, and multiple beneficiary bank accounts.
Police believe the fraudsters used social media platforms and messaging apps to identify and groom victims.Both FIRs were registered on Tuesday.
Case 1: A retired SBI employee lost Rs 41.52 lakh in just two months (between March and May 2026). He was contacted on WhatsApp by a woman identifying herself as Shraddha Singh, who claimed to guide investors in stock market trading. She later added him to a WhatsApp group. The accused then sent links to multiple suspicious websites that displayed rapidly increasing investment
values.
Case 2: A private tutor from Kanjurmarg West lost Rs 23.42 lakh from July 2023 to May 2026 after being promised massive profits through stock market investments. The victim came in contact with the one Susen through Facebook before conversations shifted to shady WhatsApp groups.
Do's
>> Verify whether the trading platform, broker or advisor is registered with SEBI
>> Cross-check website URLs and mobile apps before investing
>> Preserve WhatsApp chats, payment screenshots, transaction IDs and links as evidence.
Don'ts
>> Do not trust WhatsApp groups or social media users promising guaranteed or unusually high returns.
>> Do not transfer money to personal or unrelated beneficiary accounts.
>> Do not click on unknown investment or trading links shared over WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, or Instagram.
>> Do not pay additional "tax", "commission", or "processing charges" to withdraw profits from online trading platforms.
>> Do not continue investing merely because fake dashboards show rising profits.
A person must report suspicious transactions immediately on the cyber helpline 1930 or the National Cyber Crime portal: https://cybercrime.gov.in/
