“Ma’am, this is an urgent call from the Reserve Bank. We’ve flagged suspicious activity on your FD. Please verify your identity immediately to prevent account suspension.” That’s how it began. Anita (name changed), a 45-year-old school teacher from Chandigarh, received a call that sounded serious and authentic. It was about her fixed deposit worth several […]
There’s something about numbers moving on a screen that draws people in. For some, it’s adrenaline. For others, it’s an opportunity. And for a few, like in this story, it’s the temptation to cut corners for quick gains. This is the tale of Patel Wealth Advisors Pvt. Ltd., a seemingly well-established stockbroking firm, and how
“Sir, can I just make a quick call to my wife? My phone’s dead.” Murlidhar Gajbhiye, the 70-year-old owner of the venue, nodded and handed over his phone, unaware that this small act of trust would nearly cost him his bank account. “Sure, beta,” he said, fishing out his smartphone. “Just don’t take too long,
It started like many other cases do — with a quiet knock at the police station and a man holding a crumpled bunch of deposit slips in shaking hands. “I lost everything, sir… ₹7.8 lakh,” he told P J Kuriakose, Station House Officer at Thadiyittaparambu. “They said I was earning profits through some trading app.
It was a cold morning in January 2025 when Ananya Verma received an email that would shatter her dreams. As a bright student from Noida, she had enrolled in FIITJEE’s Sector 62 center, paying a hefty fee for their renowned coaching program. The email, however, was anything but reassuring. “Dear Student,” it began, “We regret
Rohan Harmalkar stood by the window of his luxury villa, overlooking the serene beaches of Goa. The waves crashed softly in the distance, almost as if trying to drown out the chaos that was about to arrive. His phone buzzed. A short, panicked message lit up the screen:“The ED is raiding. Be ready.” For years,
Imagine a room full of traders. Phones ringing, deals flying, caffeine-fueled chaos. Now, picture someone in that room, not doing any trading, but just… listening. Quietly. Carefully. Every word, every instruction, every number whispered across the table is being mentally recorded. Now picture them turning around, placing a trade just moments before a giant institutional
When people think of Anupam Mittal, they think of a suave entrepreneur, Shark Tank investor, and the founder of one of India’s most trusted matrimonial platforms—Shaadi.com. But now, his name is in the middle of something he likely didn’t see coming: a cyber fraud case, where the Telangana High Court has directed him and two
A huge retail deal was in the works. One of the world’s biggest companies raised a serious objection. SEBI stepped in to investigate. And the company at the center of it all—Future Retail—is now in liquidation. Sounds dramatic? It is. Let’s break it down. The Deal That Was Supposed to Save Everything Future Retail, owned
“Sir, she was like family. Always smiling, calling us ‘bhaiya’ and ‘didi’, promising double returns. We even brought more people in because we trusted her.” That’s what one of the investors who invested in Arbuda Ponzi scheme said when the police finally caught up with Nisha Agrawal, the woman who had disappeared into thin air
“Sir, I invested ₹10 lakh with them. For the first few months, I got profits every 30 days. Contract notes, statements, even emails saying my NIFTY trades had done well.” This was the first thing Mayank Kumar told SEBI. And he wasn’t alone. Dozens of investors, mostly regular retail traders—some young, some retired, a few
It was a regular evening in Panchkula when Manpreet Kaur received a call that would change everything. Sitting at her kitchen table, stirring a cup of chai, she hadn’t expected that this phone call would lead her and her husband into a scam worth ₹17.5 lakh. A Friendly Introduction “I still remember the first time
