Retired bank officer in Pune loses Rs94 lakh in online share-trading fraud

Pune: A 71-year-old retired public sector bank officer from Chinchwad lost Rs94 lakh to cybercrooks in an online share-trading fraud between Feb and June 6 this year. The elderly man lodged a complaint with the Pimpri Chinchwad cyber police on Thursday.Inspector Digambar Gaikwad of Pimpri Chinchwad cyber police said that the complainant came across an advertisement in Feb on a social media platform promising a profit of Rs5 lakh on an investment of Rs21,000. “When the complainant clicked the link on the advertisement page, he was added to a group on a mobile messaging app,” Gaikwad said.The officer said the crooks assured the elderly man of at least 300% profit on investments in the foreign stock market, cryptocurrency and the Indian stock market. They also asked him to download an app to make investments and monitor the profits.

“The complainant accepted the offer and transferred Rs1.21 lakh to a bank account provided by the accused. The app showed that he had earned a profit of $50,000 on his investment,” the officer said.Gaikwad said that when the senior citizen tried to withdraw the profit amount, the crooks began demanding more money under various pretexts. They collected money citing conveyance charges, filing fees, capital gains tax, SEBI charges, insurance, GST, licence fees, and brokerage. “The complainant transferred Rs94 lakh to 17 different bank accounts. He realised he was being duped when he did not receive the money and the crooks continued demanding more,” Gaikwad said.

He said the elderly man later approached the cyber police and lodged a complaint .“Our investigations are on,” he said.