A RETIRED State Bank of India employee from Vile Parle in Mumbai has allegedly lost nearly R28 lakh in a sophisticated cyber fraud after being lured through a WhatsApp group promising high stock market returns.

According to cyber police officials, Joshi, 68 (name changed as requested by the victim), was approached by a woman named Suman Gupta via WhatsApp. She introduced herself as a customer service executive of Anand Rathi, founder and chairman of Anand Rathi Group, a major financial services conglomerate known in the wealth management, investment banking, insurance and stock broking industry.

Gupta added Joshi to a WhatsApp group called ‘Anand Rathi-vip5’, where self-proclaimed “admins” of the group, named Rahul Mehra and Suresh Malhotra, flaunted massive returns from stock market trades.

People in the group were promised sky-high profits if they downloaded a trading app. Joshi, swayed by constant persuasion and fabricated screenshots of gains, installed an app called AR Trade Mobi from what looked like an Apple App Store link.

On June 22, Joshi “invested” Rs 25,000, followed by another Rs 75,000 on June 26. Believing the app’s fabricated dashboards that reflected soaring returns, he kept investing — Rs 48,000 on June 29, Rs 3.2 lakh on June 30, another Rs 3.2 lakh on July 2, and finally, a massive Rs 20 lakh on July 5. In total, over just 14 days, the retired banker poured in Rs 27.88 lakh, convinced that his balance was multiplying into crores. Each time he attempted to withdraw, the fraudsters blocked him with excuses of “tax deductions” and “losses,” until the grim realisation set in that he was being duped.

Each time he tried to withdraw his “profits”, he was met with excuses: “Withdraw now and you’ll face losses,” or “First pay taxes, then the funds will be released.”

“The fraudsters know what they are doing. Using names of reputed financial companies, they trap the victims with fake trading apps, sham customer support emails, which look real and authentic, and smooth-talking fraudsters posing as financial advisors. They will speak like a professional, with good English and conviction, so people believe the lies they tell,” a police official involved in the investigation said.

Police have registered a case under multiple sections of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, for cheating, impersonation, and criminal conspiracy. Police have also identified WhatsApp numbers linked to the accused and the fraudulent bank accounts where the money was siphoned.

“No legitimate financial institution will ever ask investors to transfer money into personal bank accounts or to download third-party apps from suspicious links,” a police officer said.

STAY ALERT

Verify authenticity: Always check the official website or helpline of financial companies before investing

Beware of WhatsApp groups: Investment tips and unsolicited messages on social media are a common red flag

Check app sources: Download only verified apps from official app stores, and never through links shared on chats

Beware of high return schemes: Promises of extraordinary profits in a short span are almost always fraudulent

Use ‘1930’ helpline: Report immediately if you suspect you’ve been targeted by cyber fraud

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