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Bengaluru: The promise of lucrative profits and IPO allotments came with a costly catch for a 55-year-old employee of a private firm, who ended up losing almost Rs 1.3 crore to cybercrooks. The victim, Suresh (name changed), told police the fraud took place between July 7 and Sept 4.
The crooks introduced him to a purported institutional investment programme, called “high net worth development programme,” where they guided him on how to make investments and instructed him to download an application called “JB X One. His account was locked on the pretext of “settlement,” after which the crooks demanded a 10% service/brokerage fee. Suresh said the fraudsters claimed the project was a confidential HNW programme and could not be verified through regular bank branches.
The fraudsters contacted him through WhatsApp , introducing themselves as Sonal Jagannath, who claimed to be a relationship manager, and Kunal Sumaya, who purportedly headed a ‘Julius Baer’ wealth management division. They also operated a WhatsApp group named ‘D036 Julius Baer Wealth,’ where investment plans and stock recommendations were shared. The app mimicked the Zurich-headquartered Julius Baer’s branding and falsely displayed affiliations with Securities and Exchange Board of India, National Stock Exchange, and Bombay Stock Exchange. The situation changed when Suresh attempted to withdraw his capital and purported profits. He was warned that withdrawals would not be permitted until payment was made. They cited regulatory approvals and provided multiple individual and corporate bank accounts for receiving funds. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Bengaluru | Silver Rate in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru | Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Petrol Price in Bengaluru | Diesel Price in Bengaluru | CNG Price in Bengaluru | LPG Price in Bengaluru