Man duped of ₹29 lakh in online trading fraud

A 40-year-old resident of Yousufguda was duped of nearly ₹29 lakh in an online trading and IPO investment fraud carried out through fake Facebook and WhatsApp groups.

Police said the victim was first contacted on Facebook and later added to a WhatsApp group named ‘F55 – Fortune Skye’, which had more than 200 members and appeared genuine. Believing it to be a legitimate investment forum, he deposited huge amount into bank accounts that were shown as being linked to SEBI-registered entities.

The fraudsters initially displayed profits on the group’s platform and then pressured him by allocating shares worth ₹25 lakh. When he attempted to withdraw money, he was told to first pay an 18% fee amounting to ₹3.11 lakh, followed by further demands of 20% tax.

Although the victim was shown a balance of ₹42,86,947 on a fake trading application named RCL–PMA, he was not allowed to withdraw any funds. Instead, the group operators threatened that the money would be diverted to charity if he failed to meet their demands.

Investigations revealed that the WhatsApp group was largely controlled by the fraudsters themselves, who posed as investors to mislead genuine participants. The total financial loss suffered by the victim stands at ₹28,76,715.

A case was booked and further investigation is under way.