A shocking case of digital trading fraud has come to light in Pune, where a retired Indian Air Force (IAF) officer has been defrauded of approximately ₹97 lakh. The victim was even forced to take out loans totaling ₹55 lakh to continue making payments, believing he was investing in a lucrative share trading platform.
The 53-year-old officer, residing in Pune, was reportedly convinced to register on a fraudulent share trading application. The app falsely projected his earnings to reach ₹4.4 crore. Following his complaint, an FIR has been registered against the perpetrators.
According to the complaint, the officer was deceived into making 18 significant transfers to various mule accounts over a 40-day period. During this time, he was led to believe he was engaging with a legitimate and trusted share trading platform. However, cyber fraudsters, masquerading as share trading experts, were actually funneling his money into accounts controlled by them.
How the elaborate fraud unfolded:
The scam began when the officer clicked on a fraudulent advertisement for a share trading platform. He was subsequently added to a WhatsApp group and provided with a link to download a fake share trading app. Through this app, the fraudsters, posing as administrators and stock market gurus, solicited his personal and financial information, all while offering seemingly valuable share trading tips.
The fraudsters provided fake investment inputs and an account number to which the victim was instructed to send money. Crucially, every transaction made by the officer was reflected on the fake app, displaying inflated and rapidly growing returns, which further lured him into investing more.
After depleting a substantial portion of his savings, the fraudsters presented a new ‘investment opportunity’ in an Initial Public Offering (IPO). When the officer stated he had no more funds, they manipulated him into taking out loans, warning him that he would lose his current ‘earnings’ if he didn’t capitalize on this new opportunity.
This pressure led him to take a personal loan of ₹30 lakh and a gold loan of ₹25 lakh. The funds were then transferred to mule accounts located across multiple states, including Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Assam, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha.
The final blow came when the veteran officer attempted to withdraw the ₹4.4 crore reflected in the app. He was then informed that he needed to pay 20% of his total earnings as tax. It was at this moment that the officer suspected he had been scammed and promptly reported the incident to the cyber crime police station, leading to the registration of the FIR.