Cyber police are probing a major online investment fraud after a private firm employee from Pune lost ₹98 lakh to a fake stock trading app promoted through WhatsApp. The victim aged 56 lives in the Thergaon area and reported that the scam unfolded over several weeks promising unusually high returns from share trading and IPO investments.
The fraud began in September when unknown administrators added the victim to a WhatsApp group claiming links to a reputed investment company. Group members regularly shared screenshots of large profits and glowing testimonials to build trust. Believing the claims, the victim downloaded a trading app shared by the group. The app showed real time gains and appeared legitimate but was fully controlled by the fraudsters.
Between September and November, the victim transferred money in multiple instalments totalling ₹98 lakh to different bank accounts provided by the scammers. These transfers were described as payments for share purchases and IPO entries. The app displayed his balance growing into crores which encouraged further deposits. When he tried to withdraw funds for urgent needs the scammers demanded more money citing “tax clearance fees” and “premium IPO allotments”. After he refused the WhatsApp group was deleted and all communication stopped.
Pimpri Chinchwad Cyber Police registered an FIR under relevant IT Act and BNS sections. Investigators traced the bank accounts to Chennai Delhi and Darjeeling indicating a mule account network before conversion into crypto. Mobile phone forensic analysis confirmed coordinated fraud through preserved chat logs. Police say Pune has seen 128 high value investment scam cases in 2024 alone with losses of ₹143 crore. Similar cases include a software engineer losing ₹95.2 lakh a Hadapsar resident losing ₹1.2 crore and a Koregaon Park entrepreneur losing ₹1.86 crore. Officials warn that WhatsApp based trading tips guaranteed returns of 15% to 50% unknown apps and urgent IPO offers are common red flags and urge victims to report immediately via 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in to improve recovery chances.
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