The lure and the con
Ahmedabad: A 47-year-old businessman from Satellite lost Rs 57.3 lakh in an investment fraud after allegedly being lured by an Instagram advertisement. He had come across the advertisement on Sept 10. After the application showed the amount as trading balance, he invested another Rs 5,000 and later Rs 10,000. He said he became convinced of the platform’s credibility after successfully withdrawing Rs 1,000. The transactions listed in his complaint formed part of the total investment of Rs 57.3 lakh. The app displayed profits and showed a balance of Rs 1.04 crore. When he sought to withdraw his money, 30% of the displayed amount was allegedly demanded from him. Suspecting fraud, he contacted the company on Oct 15 and was allegedly told that it had no connection with the application.
The ad promised lucrative stock market investment opportunities with guidance from “experts”. He was lured into transferring money into multiple bank accounts through a fake trading app, according to the complaint. The businessman initially transferred Rs 5,000 to the account provided by the “advisers”.
Behind the screen, it was fraudsters who conned the IT services company owner who runs his business from Navrangpura and lives in Bopal. Tapping on the link allegedly led him to download the application, where he registered using his Gmail account. A woman contacted him on WhatsApp, claiming she would be managing his trading account and guiding him on buying and selling shares. She added him to a WhatsApp group where members shared trading tips. Over the following weeks, he transferred larger sums to several bank accounts, including those held with prominent banks. He then filed the complaint.
He filed a complaint with Cybercrime police on Tuesday.
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