Two Victims Lose Rs 1.4 Crore in Separate Online Trading Scams in Pune
Pune: A woman from Bibvewadi and a software developer from Wagholi collectively lost Rs 1.4 crore after falling victim to separate online share-trading scams. The Pune cyber police registered two cases of cheating against the online fraudsters on Monday.
A 42-year-old woman from Bibvewadi was defrauded of Rs 69.4 lakh. The scam began when she received a message on her cellphone encouraging her to invest in shares online for handsome profits. Intrigued, the woman clicked on the link, and her number was added to a messaging application group. The group members frequently discussed the high returns generated by trading shares.
After reading the messages, the victim contacted the group admin, who sent her a link to an online mobile application for trading shares. She downloaded the application and started trading. The group admin then contacted her, urging her to invest in high-value shares and IPOs. The admin promised to assist her in buying high-value shares and IPOs and provided her with 13 different bank accounts to transfer money.
The victim's account on the application showed a collective profit of Rs 8.94 crore. Encouraged by this, she decided to sell the shares for profit. However, the suspects did not allow her to sell and kept demanding more money in the form of taxes and other fees. Realizing she had been cheated, the woman approached the police.
In a similar case, a 42-year-old software developer from Wagholi also fell victim to an online trading scam. The techie, who works for a prominent software company in Kharadi and is a graduate from one of India's top institutes, was cheated between August and September last year. The fraudsters used the same tactics, luring him with promises of high returns and demanding more money for various fees.
The victim eventually realized he had been scammed and lodged a complaint with the police. Both cases highlight the growing threat of online trading scams and the importance of being cautious when approached with investment opportunities that seem too good to be true.
The Pune cyber police are actively investigating both cases and urge the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity immediately.