Engineer loses Rs 2.44 cr in US stock linked cyber fraud

NT Correspondent Bengaluru: A 56 year old engineer admitted to getting defrauded of Rs 2.44 crore after installing a suspicious mobile application to invest in US stocks, it was revealed on Thursday. The complainant, who filed an FIR at the South Division of Bengaluru Cyber Crime police, said that he received a WhatsApp message on July 1 from a US number claiming to offer lucrative US stocks at cheap price.

He was invited to join a group, named “Chandra High-Quality Bull Plan Screening Group - XY36,” and was promised high amounts of profit. The next day, the complainant paid Rs 999 to join a Telegram group, where a person named Jeevan assisted him with trading stocks. On July 25, the victim was told to open a demat account though an apk file, and invested upto Rs.2.44 crore through it.

When seeking to withdraw funds the next day, the victim was told to deposit 30 percent of the profit earned. After transferring Rs. 50,000 more, he found his account being deactivated, prompting him to report it to the police. A case has been filed under theInformation Technology Act, as well as Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita.