Is your trading app authentic? Have you ever been trapped and scammed by a clone trading app?
If yes, then don’t waste time and take the right action at the right time.
Here is the case of Sunil (name changed) who got scammed through a clone trading app. But his instincts first prevented him from making bigger losses and then his quick actions helped him in recovering 100% of the lost amount.
Curious to know what step he had taken, here is the complete detail of the incident.
How Sunil Got Scammed?
Sunil is a software engineer by profession and uses to do long-term investments using Zerodha trading app. One day he received a call from an Unknown Number, where Kaushal (name changed), a caller on the other side asked him about his trading activities.
Sunil told him about his investment interest however, Kaushal told him about the benefits of intraday trading in the FnO segment. On this Sunil replied that he was not aware of the same.
But Kaushal put his efforts into convincing him and eventually won in his objective. Sunil agreed to try trading but with small capital. But to activate the FnO segment in Zerodha, it generally takes 48 hours.
When Sunil told Kaushal about this, then Kaushal provided one link and asked him to open a new trading account. However, Sunil found it suspicious. The app was a very basic app with a few charts and there was no option to place an order.
Above all, to trade using that app, Sunil had added money using a QR Code which was very unusual. He was in doubt but still added a small amount of ₹21,000 in 4-5 installments to begin his trading journey.
After adding money he was still unsure and thought of dropping the idea to trade. But when he tried to withdraw the amount, the transaction failed.
He then called Kaushal who assured him that he would help Sunil in earning a per day profit of ₹3,000-₹4,000 and at least give it a try. Sunil then asked him to place one trade of ₹2,000 but soon he lost the amount.
Sunil then immediately asked Kaushal not to place any trade and immediately refund his money. However, in the next few seconds, the whole capital was wiped off from the account.
Sunil was not able to understand all that happened, as there was no option to Buy/Sell, and no position was opened, then where did his money go?
What Actions did Sunil Take to Recover his Funds?
He called Kaushal but got no reply and finally decided the case to NSE. However, NSE reverted to the list of guidelines and precautions that one must take while trading in the stock market.
He didn’t quit and approached the Cyber Crime branch and reported this case offline. But didn’t get any response there as well. Then after a month of struggling to get his money back, he reached out to our FraudFree team.
Our team took no time to understand the nature of the scam. Soon team collected all the evidence including the screenshot of the WhatsApp chat and bank transaction details. Our team then filed a complaint to Cyber Crime Online.
Within 2-3 days, Kaushal called Sunil to confirm whether he filed a complaint against him. Since Cyber Crime had frozen Kaushal’s bank account hence he agreed to refund the amount to Sunil.
However, Kaushal put several conditions before him to sign a document that if in the future, a similar thing happens with his account, then Sunil would have to pay the amount and a lot more. But with the advise and proper support of our team, Sunil refused to sign such a document.
He, however, sent Kaushal a WhatsApp message to confirm that on receiving the amount he would take his complaint back.
Our team assured Sunil that in either of the cases, he would get his money and therefore he must not take any such step or decision. Soon Kaushal agreed to pay the whole amount of ₹21,000 from Kaushal.
What Can You Learn from Sunil’s Story?
Sunil’s experience underscores the importance of taking immediate and informed action when faced with a scam. Despite the initial setbacks and frustration, his persistence and careful steps led to the successful recovery of his funds.
The key to his success was timely reporting of the fraud, proper documentation, and support from A Digital Blogger FraudFree team.
By navigating through the complexities of the complaint process and refusing the scammer’s irrelevant terms and conditions, Sunil recovered his ₹21,000 and at the same time, Cyber Crime sets an example of dealing with crimes.
This case highlights that swift action, combined with the right resources and guidance, can significantly increase the chances of recovering money lost to fraud.
