A 46-year-old software engineer from Horamavu lost ₹44 lakh after falling victim to a sophisticated stock trading scam. The fraud began with a seemingly innocent Telegram message about a medical emergency.
The victim, identified as Jayaraj (name changed), received the message on July 11, asking him to rush to a hospital as someone was in critical condition. Believing it was sent to him by mistake, he responded politely. The sender, introducing herself as “Reeva Chauhan,” thanked engineer, starting a conversation that gradually led to financial manipulation.
Friendly exchanges moved from Telegram to WhatsApp, including voice calls. Over time, “Reeva” gained engineer’s trust and suggested investing in the stock market. Claiming to work for a reputed stock trading firm, she promised high returns.
On July 31, she shared a link to a platform called OSL Trade and helped engineer set up an account. Encouraged to test the platform, he initially invested ₹50,000. Within days, ₹4,950 was credited back to his bank account, creating a false sense of trust.
Between August 1 and September 17, Jayaraj transferred ₹20 lakh, ₹12 lakh, and ₹12.2 lakh to accounts provided by the fraudsters. The platform dashboard falsely showed his balance growing to ₹24 lakh. When he attempted to withdraw funds, the system blocked the request and demanded additional money to unlock it. Having exhausted his savings, engineer refused further payments, and communication with “Reeva” ceased.
Realizing he had been scammed, engineer approached the cybercrime helpline (1930) and filed a complaint on September 22. The East CEN Crime Police registered a case under the Information Technology Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 318 (cheating). Authorities are tracing the fraudsters and seeking to freeze the beneficiary accounts. Investigators suspect the platform is linked to a larger interstate or international cybercrime network.
Experts warn that stock trading scams using fake apps and social engineering are increasing across India. Cybercrime authorities urge citizens to verify brokers on SEBI’s official list, avoid transferring large sums to unknown accounts, and report suspicious activity immediately.
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