Navi Mumbai man loses Rs 45.6 lakh in share trading fraud; six booked

A 44-year-old Navi Mumbai man was allegedly duped of Rs 45.6 lakh by cyber fraudsters who lured him to invest in share trading, police said on Saturday, reported news agency PTI.

The cyber police on Thursday registered a case against six persons under sections 419 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology (IT) Act, an official said, reported PTI.

The Navi Mumbai man, a resident of Panvel, came across a link called “Stock Loss Recovery” on Instagram and was routed to various groups involved in stock market trading, he said, reported PTI.

The official said the complainant started share trading and invested Rs 47 lakh in March and April, reported PTI.

The complainant`s account reflected a balance of Rs 98 lakh, including the profits earned from trading. But when he attempted to withdraw the earnings, he was asked to pay 18 per cent of his profits, around Rs 7 lakh, he said.

Despite complying with the demand, the victim found that additional money was getting siphoned off from his account without authorisation, the official said.

The complainant managed to reclaim Rs 1.30 lakh but could not recover Rs 45.69 lakh, he said.

In another case, a 47-year-old man from Navi Mumbai was allegedly duped of Rs 46 lakh by fraudsters posing as officials from the Mumbai cyber police, who threatened to register a case of money laundering and drugs against him, police said on Friday, reported PTI.

The police on Thursday registered a case under section 420 (cheating) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act against four persons, an official said.

As per the complaint, the accused allegedly posed as officials of the Mumbai cyber police and contacted the victim, a resident of Nerul, on WhatsApp, claiming that they had received a complaint of money laundering and drugs against him, he said, reported PTI.

The accused demanded money from the complainant to avoid a police case, and he transferred Rs 46 lakh to different bank accounts between April 10 and 15, the official said.

No arrests have been made so far, and a probe has been initiated, he said.

(With inputs from PTI)