Mumbai: Senior citizen duped of Rs 1.19 crore in fake stock investment scam

A retired 83-year-old man from Dadar has become the latest victim of cyber fraud, reportedly losing Rs 1.19 crore to a bogus stock investment racket. In a well-orchestrated con, multiple individuals posing as investment experts duped him under the pretext of IPO investments.

The incident began on March 10, when the victim came across an advertisement on social media. After clicking on it, he was added to a WhatsApp group titled “G-5 ICICI Stock Exchange Group”, reportedly managed by two individuals named Vinita Patodia and Ashwin Parekh. The group had over 90 members who regularly posted about the profits they claimed to be earning through stock investments. The victim, though passive, kept reading the messages without interacting.

On April 2, Patodia sent the victim a private message asking if he was interested in investing. After he agreed, she shared a link along with a form for registration. Soon after, a man named Pranay Warma, citing Patodia’s reference, contacted the victim and asked him to transfer r7.5 lakh as initial investment. The victim complied, hoping for high returns.

On April 10, Patodia reconnected with the victim and encouraged him to invest further, this time in IPOs. Between May 2 and May 23, the victim transferred substantial amounts to multiple bank accounts. To gain his trust, the fraudsters sent forged documents and screenshots showing inflated virtual balances.

When he later asked for a payout, the scammers told him to first deposit 10 per cent of his returns as a company commission. Suspecting foul play after his calls and messages began going unanswered, the victim consulted a friend who confirmed it was a scam. He immediately lodged a complaint at the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (1930), and the case was subsequently handed over to the Cyber Police (Central Division) for investigation. The accused have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. Further investigation is underway.

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