A retired 83-year-old man from Dadar has fallen victim to an elaborate cyber fraud, losing Rs 1.19 crore to a fake stock investment racket. The con involved multiple fraudsters posing as investment experts promising lucrative IPO investments.
The scam began on March 10 when the victim clicked on a social media advertisement and was added to a WhatsApp group called “G-5 ICICI Stock Exchange Group,” managed by two suspects, Vinita Patodia and Ashwin Parekh. The group had over 90 members who posted about fictitious profits from stock trading.
On April 2, Patodia contacted the victim privately to pitch investment opportunities. After his agreement, she shared a registration link and form. Soon after, a man named Pranay Warma, citing Patodia’s referral, requested an initial investment of Rs 7.5 lakh, which the victim transferred.
Encouraged by Patodia, the victim invested further between May 2 and May 23, sending money to multiple bank accounts. To maintain trust, the scammers sent forged documents and screenshots displaying inflated account balances.
When the victim asked for a payout, he was asked to pay 10% commission upfront. Realizing the fraud after the accused became unreachable, the victim filed a complaint with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal. The Cyber Police (Central Division) have taken over the investigation, registering cases under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and IT Act.
Further inquiries are ongoing to apprehend the accused.
