Pune Cyber Swindle: Engineer Loses Life Savings in Rs 3.96 Crore Investment Scam
Pune, 19th January 2024: In a distressing turn of events, a 59-year-old retired engineer fell victim to an online investment scam between October and December 2023, losing a staggering Rs 3.96 crore. The fraudulent scheme, enticing the victim with promises of high returns on shares, prompted him to file a complaint with the Pune cyber police in the final week of December. Following thorough verification, an official First Information Report (FIR) was registered on Wednesday.
Senior Inspector Meenal Patil provided insights into the unfolding of the scam. According to Patil, the victim, a former engineer with a prominent automotive company, came across a suspicious link while perusing his social networking profile in October. Clicking on the link led him to a webpage that featured a phone number. Upon clicking the number, he found himself added to a group on a mobile messaging application.
Patil explained, “The group, consisting of 30 members, is suspected to be managed by cyber criminals. They portrayed themselves as experts in the share market, claiming to guide members towards lucrative profits through share investments. The victim, seeking substantial returns, contacted one of the alleged assistants from the group.”
The scammers purportedly had an online application for buying and selling shares. To proceed, the victim was instructed to download the application. The fraudsters then convinced him to invest Rs 10 lakh with promises of a five-fold return. Subsequently, the victim was lured into investing Rs 50 lakh, allegedly resulting in a twenty-fold return.
Instead of utilizing the application’s payment gateway, the criminals provided details of seven different bank accounts, instructing the victim to transfer the money.
Patil revealed, “With a Rs 60 lakh investment, the application showed a supposed profit of Rs 1.76 crore. Believing he had earned a substantial amount, the victim attempted to withdraw the money. However, the fraudsters demanded payments for SEBI fines, various charges, taxes, and additional fees. Falling prey to their tactics, the victim ended up transferring Rs 3.36 crore to seven bank accounts, totaling a loss of Rs 3.96 crore to gain Rs 1.76 crore.”
