A 56-year-old businessman from Vasant Kunj, Delhi, became a victim of a cyber fraud, losing a staggering Rs 23 lakh to scamsters who tricked him with promises of high returns through a fake stock trading platform.
The Delhi Police arrested Ayan Das, a 21-year-old man from Kolkata, who allegedly provided bank accounts to the fraudsters for their illegal transactions. Das’s involvement helped the criminals receive and launder the victim’s funds.
The fraud began on April 1, when the businessman was added to a WhatsApp group called “MFSL Stock Chat 40.” Inside the group, scammers posing as market experts shared stock recommendations at discounted prices. Over the course of six weeks, the victim followed their advice and was then invited to join a so-called “security quota VIP” fast-trading account.
DCP (South-West) Surendra Choudhary explained the modus operandi, saying, “The fraudsters gain the victim’s trust by providing seemingly legitimate market analysis. They then lure the victim into using their fraudulent trading platform, which appears highly professional.”
The victim was directed to a website called ‘bekrx.com,’ where he invested Rs 23 lakh through four separate transactions. The scammers further enticed him by showing an allocation of 25,000 shares in the “Kronox Lab Sciences” IPO. His investment value was shown as Rs 39 lakh with profits. However, when he tried to withdraw Rs 20 lakh, the fraudsters kept delaying the payment, citing “month-end settlement,” and demanded more money.
After the victim filed a complaint, the cyber police traced the money trail to Kolkata. Despite the main perpetrators operating from overseas, the police were able to arrest Ayan Das, who had allegedly worked with other members of the syndicate. During a raid at his residence in Netaji Nagar, Kolkata, the police recovered five mobile phones, one laptop, 20 debit cards, six chequebooks, passbooks, and three proprietorship stamps.
Investigations revealed that Das worked with a 22-year-old woman named Dishari Roy, whose account under the name “Roy Enterprises” was used to funnel the fraudulent transactions. Roy was arrested after it was found that she had been paid Rs 10,000 for allowing her account to be used in the scam.
Efforts to apprehend other members of the fraud syndicate are still underway.