Mumbai, Apr 22 (PTI) A senior executive of a bank in Mumbai was duped of Rs 97.78 lakh allegedly by cyber fraudsters who lured him with fake share market investment schemes promising high returns, police said on Wednesday.
The accused posed as representatives of a reputed investment advisory firm to gain the victim’s trust, and projected inflated profits on a fraudulent mobile application. The complainant, a 44-year-old resident of Chembur, works as an Assistant Vice President at a leading bank.
In February, the victim received a WhatsApp link from an unknown number and was subsequently added to groups. The female caller claimed to be an assistant to an investment advisor. When the victim searched the name online, the profile appeared to belong to a senior official of a reputed firm, a police official added.
The fraudsters then persuaded the banker to download a mobile application. After registering his mobile number and completing KYC formalities on the app, he was encouraged to invest in share trading. Initially, he invested Rs 50,000 and saw a five per cent return reflected on the app.
Encouraged by the apparent gains, he continued investing larger sums on the advice of the accused, who contacted him through multiple phone numbers and asked him to transfer funds to different bank accounts. Between February and April, he transferred a total of Rs 97.78 lakh, according to the FIR.
To maintain credibility, the fraudsters returned Rs 70,000 as purported profit, prompting him to invest further. The app later showed a balance of Rs 1.67 crore, including profits. However, when he attempted to withdraw the amount, the accused stopped responding.
The victim reported the incident last week through the National Cyber Helpline (1930) and later lodged an FIR with the cyber police on Monday, the official added. PTI ZA NSK
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