BENGALURU: Those looking to increase their wealth by investing in the stock markets should be careful of fraudsters on the prowl looking to bait such people.
A Bengaluru resident, Aiyappa, who had invested Rs 1 crore in the stock market, was recently cheated by fraudsters. He realised this when he wanted to withdraw money from his account, but the fraudsters had blocked the account. Aiyappa is among three people, including a techie, who were cheated in similar manner of about Rs 2 crore.
Fraudsters usually lure people on messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram with promises of doubling investors’ money by investing it in the stock market.
There are 20 to 30 fraudsters in these group. For instance, many keep posting the group that they have earned Rs 1.5 lakh in three months after investing Rs 50,000 in the stock market. Others in the group believe these fraudsters and invest crores of money. If the amount deposited by the customer is doubled, the customer’s account will be updated. When the amount deposited by the customer crosses Rs 50 lakh, the account will be frozen.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Laxmi Prasad said there are three fraud cases related to stock market investments registered within a week. “They first create WhatsApp and Telegram groups to share stock market information. The other members of the group are fraudsters, and they keep updating stock profits on WhatsApp by sharing screenshots of amounts to make other prospective investors believe in it and even suggest websites for others to log in. But the victims will be able to withdraw the money; instead, the fraudsters will ask for a fee to get their money back. The victim then realises that it was fraud”, he explained.
Further, the DCP said, “A man got cheated of Rs 14 lakh; another man lost around Rs 20 lakh while yet another lost around Rs 96 lakh. The fraudsters will get numbers from Telegram and target well-earning people like businessmen and techies. They only contact prospective investors through WhatsApp calls. People who have a desire to earn more from the stock market are easily fooled by such fraudsters. This is a completely online process”.
