In a major breakthrough, the police have arrested 16 individuals across multiple cities, including Bengaluru, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Delhi, Faridabad, Lucknow, and Gurgaon, in connection with a fraudulent scheme that duped a chartered accountant’s daughter from Faridabad of Rs 7.6 crore. The scam was carried out under the guise of stock market investments promoted through Facebook links.
The victim, who had been trading in the stock market for two years and worked alongside her father in a management company, received an enticing link on Facebook on January 4. The link led her to a WhatsApp group called “ICICI IR TEAM (57),” where members appeared to be generating impressive profits. Motivated by their apparent success, the victim decided to invest her own money.
Soon after, the fraudsters added her to another WhatsApp group, “C6Ram Investment Academy,” and instructed her to transfer funds via their customer service team. Following these instructions, she started depositing large sums of money into various bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.
A woman named Kareena Rajput, who posed as a representative of the investment company, contacted the victim and claimed to have obtained her bank details through their customer service. The victim made a series of large transactions, starting with Rs 1 lakh on March 19, followed by Rs 60 lakh on March 21. She continued to deposit money, eventually transferring Rs 90 lakh from her father’s account, Rs 15 lakh from her mother’s account, and a final sum of Rs 4 crore. In total, the victim “invested” Rs 7.6 crore.
However, when she demanded the return of her investment along with promised profits, the fraudsters attempted to convince her to invest even more money. This raised her suspicions, and she soon realized she had been scammed.
The accused had cleverly devised a scheme to lure individuals into investing in the stock market through these WhatsApp groups. According to the police, the fraudsters converted the money into USDT (a cryptocurrency) and transferred it to accounts in China.
The police, led by Amit Kumar, head of the cyber police station, tracked down the perpetrators and made several arrests. Among those arrested were Prashant Kumar from Bengaluru, Syed Md. Zeeshan and Syed Suhel from Uttar Pradesh, Hari Kishan and Ram Singh alias Dhallu from Bikaner, Akash and Rohit from Delhi, Mahendra alias Ritesh and Dinesh Kumar from Jodhpur, Rinku, Indrajit, and Rahul (an MTech graduate) from Bikaner, Dipendra from UP, and Dinesh Kumar from Bikaner.
In addition to the arrests, the police recovered significant evidence, including 24 mobile phones, 556 SIM cards, 67 cheque books, 62 ATM cards, and Rs 15.2 lakh in cash. The investigation continues, with authorities working to trace the full extent of the scam and identify the end recipients of the stolen funds.
This case highlights the growing risk of online investment fraud, where scammers use trusted platforms and social engineering tactics to defraud victims, turning what seems like a lucrative investment opportunity into a devastating loss.
