Mumbai Man Falls Prey to Trading Scammers, Loses Rs. 1.07 Cr
Mumbai Man Falls Prey to Trading Scammers, Loses Rs. 1.07 Cr
Earlier, ET reported that in the initial four months of 2024, Indians incurred losses amounting to Rs 1.2 billion across 4,599 instances of digital arrests.
27th May 2024
According to a report from PTI on 27th May, police stated that a 48-year-old individual residing in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, was purportedly cheated out of ₹1.07 crore by individuals who promised significant returns through share trading. As part of the ongoing investigation, a case was filed against 15 individuals, including the proprietors of a mobile application and a website, on Sunday (26th May).
Between 13th February and 5th May, the victim was contacted several times by the fraudsters, who guaranteed him profitable returns through share trading. Consequently, he was persuaded to transfer funds into multiple bank accounts, as stated by senior inspector Gajanan Kadam of the Navi Mumbai cyber police.
The victim transferred a sum of ₹1,07,09,000 into various bank accounts. Yet, upon requesting returns and a refund of his invested capital, the fraudsters remained unresponsive, as mentioned by the official.
Upon realising he had fallen victim to deception, the man lodged a complaint with the cyber police. Acting on this complaint, the police registered a case on Sunday under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, as confirmed by the official.
The occurrence in Navi Mumbai is indicative of a larger trend of rising online trading scams in India. Many victims are singled out through online investment fraud, gaming applications, algorithm manipulations, illicit lending applications, sextortion and forwarding OTPs.
As per the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), more than 100,000 investment scam cases were documented in 2023. Earlier, ET reported that in the initial four months of 2024, Indians incurred losses amounting to Rs 1.2 billion across 4,599 instances of digital arrests. Trading scams constituted 20,043 cases during the same timeframe, leading to losses of Rs 14.2 billion.
According to I4C data, Indians reported losses of Rs 2.22 billion in 62,687 complaints related to investment scams, while dating apps resulted in a loss of Rs 132.3 million across 1,725 complaints. The cumulative loss incurred by Indians to cybercriminals during January to April 2024 amounted to Rs 17.6 billion.
