Stock market trading fraud: Retired official of MNC falls prey to scam, loses Rs 10 crore

A 65yearold lawyer who has worked as a consultant for several multinational firms has reportedly been defrauded of nearly Rs 10 crore by cybercriminals the Mumbai Police said on Wednesday reported the PTIThe victim a retired executive of an Indian multinational conglomerate where he headed the administration and industrial relations department was contacted by an unidentified woman in June according to a police officialClaiming to represent a reputed stock broking firm the woman persuaded him to join multiple WhatsApp groups that purportedly shared tips on share trading and IPOs She also provided a link to download a stock trading app called ldquoAR Trade MobirdquoBetween June and November the victim invested a total of Rs 994 crore through the app While the application showed high returns on his investments he was unable to withdraw any money according to the PTIWhen he asked the socalled firm to return his funds he was repeatedly asked to transfer additional amounts under various pretexts Suspicious of the scheme he eventually stopped complyingThe fraudsters then ceased all communication prompting the victim to approach the Cyber Police Shivajinagar MumbaiA First Information Report FIR has been registered against unidentified persons and the police have launched a detailed investigation into the matter the official addedMeanwhile in an another incident a 60yearold businessman from south Mumbai spent an entire night under what police described as a lsquodigital arrestrsquo after cyber fraudsters posing as senior law enforcement officials allegedly extorted Rs 53 lakh from him police said on Tuesday reported the PTIAccording to investigators the fraudsters accused the victim a resident of Agripada of involvement in a money laundering case forcing him to remain on a video call overnight under the pretext of an impending ldquoonline bail hearingrdquoThey even sent him a fake notice bearing the Supreme Courtrsquos letterheadThe socalled ldquodigital arrestrdquo is an emerging form of cybercrime in which scammers impersonate police or government officials and intimidate victims via audio or video calls keeping them under psychological confinement until they transfer moneyPolice said the incident began on November 2 when the businessman received a call from a man identifying himself as Rajiv Sinha an officer from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI The caller claimed a SIM card registered in the victimrsquos name had been misused in fraudulent activities and demanded he appear before Delhi Police within two hoursWhen the businessman said he could not travel to Delhi he was soon contacted via video call by another man claiming to be Vijay Khanna a Delhi Police officer Khanna informed him that his Aadhaar card had been used to open a bank account in Daryaganj Delhi linked to a money laundering probeThe victim was subsequently connected to several others posing as senior officials from the AntiCorruption Branch Inspection Department and Directorate of Enforcement who displayed fake official notices on video The victim was interrogated through the night about his finances and property and told he was under arrest until his supposed bail hearing the next morningDuring the staged ldquoonline hearingrdquo the fraudsters pretended to be court officials and told the victim that his bail had been denied They then ordered him to transfer his funds to a lsquonationalised bank accountrsquo allegedly to protect them during the investigation The victim complied transferring Rs 53 lakhLater when the scammers demanded further payment the businessman grew suspicious Under the guise of going to the toilet he escaped from the room and called the national cybercrime helpline 1930He subsequently filed a complaint at the Central Region Cyber Police Station where a case has been registered and an investigation is underway Police are tracing the accounts used in the fraud and have issued warnings against such ldquodigital arrestrdquo scams which are increasingly being reported across Indiawith PTI inputs