Often, when we hear about a cybercrime scam or a scam related to trading, the first thought that comes to mind is that the victim might not have been well-educated or didn’t have enough knowledge of the market, etc.
But when we came across news where an Army officer, a Brigadier, fell victim to an online trading scam, it takes a moment to believe.
Recently, an Army Officer filed an FIR in Pune, revealing a loss of ₹31 lakh in an online investment scam. This all happened within just 15 days in August.
Let’s find out how this happened.
As per the police, the Army officer received a message from an unknown number on WhatsApp, containing a link to join a group. The name of the WhatsApp group was “US-Headquartered Investment.” Most of the members in the group discussed high returns on investments.
The group members also mentioned a trading app that they claimed had brought them significant profits.
After some time, the Army officer also received a link to download the app. Attracted by the promise of high returns, the officer started transferring money to the scammer’s account.
Initially, the app also showed high profits to the officer, but when he tried to withdraw the amount, it didn’t work, and the scammer demanded a commission. A little later, when the Army officer clicked the app link again, he found that the app was no longer there.
He immediately took action and reported a case to Cyber Crime and lodge an FIR. However, he is not alone who got trapped in such a scam.
A similar case was filed recently where an Army doctor in his 30s lost a staggering ₹1.2 crore in an online share trading fraud. Cybercriminals made him believe that his total earnings were worth ₹10 crore.
In other cases of share trading fraud registered with Pune City Police in August, a veteran from the Indian Air Force and another from the Indian Navy lost a total of ₹1.3 crore in share trading frauds.
272+ Cyber Crime Cases Related to Trading App Reported in Pune Since January 2024
And it’s not just these cases—since January 2024, approximately 272 cybercrime cases related to cloned trading apps have been registered in Pune alone, with a total loss amounting to ₹125 crores.
Out of these 272 cases, around 31% of victims faced an average loss ranging between ₹50 lakh and ₹4 crores.
All these frauds were carried out by different scammers, but their methods remained the same. They first contact people via social media or direct messages, luring them with promises of guaranteed returns ranging from 100% to 1000%.
They then send a link to download a cloned app of a well-known trading or investment app, ask the victims to transfer funds to their bank accounts and show artificially inflated returns in the app.
When users try to withdraw their money, the scammers demand additional amounts under the pretext of commissions or taxes and then stop responding.
Most scammers operate from West Asia or Southeast Asia, and they rent bank accounts in India, later converting the amounts into cryptocurrency.
SEBI issued a warning regarding such scams in February 2024 and alerted the public to stay vigilant. These fraudsters often introduce themselves under the name of SEBI or as SEBI-registered foreign portfolio investors.
But do you think that these warnings are enough?
This means, that such a scam will never stop until and unless people get lured by unrealistic high returns and profits shown by scammers.
Multiple cases with the same result of loss of lakhs and crores are reported almost every other day, and the major reason is the people who get lured by such quick gains and high profits.
It is therefore time to be aware and think logically before taking any step and chasing high returns.
Conclusion
With a surge in cybercrime cases linked to trading apps, even well-educated professionals like Army officers got trapped in trading app scams.
The lure of high returns and fake trading platforms has led to massive financial losses across the country.
It’s essential to remain cautious, verify the authenticity of investment opportunities, and consider SEBI’s warnings seriously. Staying vigilant and informed is the key to avoiding such devastating frauds.
