Pune Merchant Navy Engineer Duped of Rs 1.77 Crore in Online Trading Scam

Aundh, 7th March 2025: A 58-year-old merchant navy engineer from Aundh lost ₹1.77 crore in an elaborate online share trading scam, believing he had earned a massive profit of ₹26.34 crore before realizing he had been deceived.

The victim, who transferred funds across 21 transactions between December last year and February this year, was asked to pay a 7.5% tax on his supposed profits before withdrawing his earnings. When his withdrawal requests were denied, he suspected fraud and lodged an online complaint. Following a preliminary probe, Pune cyber police registered an FIR.

A Pune cyber police officer handling the case explained that the scam began when the victim clicked on an advertisement on a social media platform in December. “After clicking the link, he was added to a mobile messenger group, where an admin, a woman claiming to be a professional trader, introduced him to an app-based investment platform,” the officer said.

When the victim requested details about the company, the woman shared two links to what appeared to be a legitimate trading firm. Convinced of its authenticity, he proceeded with investments. “She even provided training on stock trading and guided him on how to invest through the platform,” the officer added.

Initially, the victim invested ₹5,000 to purchase shares and noticed a profit reflected in the app. Encouraged by the apparent returns, he continued investing more significant sums, transferring funds from two of his bank accounts to multiple bank accounts provided by the scammers.

“By February 4, the app showed that his profits had skyrocketed to ₹26.33 crore,” the investigating officer said. “However, when he attempted to withdraw the amount, he was asked to first pay a 7.5% tax on the profit. He requested that the amount be deducted directly from his earnings, but his withdrawal requests were ignored.”

Realizing he had been duped, the engineer approached the police. Preliminary investigations revealed that the funds had been funneled into bank accounts across different cities, including Jammu, Ahmedabad, Ujjain, Bhubaneswar, and Tamluk in West Bengal.

“We are currently tracing the transactions and have requested details from the victim’s banks,” the officer said, adding that efforts are underway to identify the culprits behind the fraud.

Online investment scams have been on the rise, and cyber police have urged the public to verify trading platforms thoroughly before investing and to avoid sharing financial details with unverified sources.