The Vadodara Cyber Crime Unit has successfully arrested 17 individuals in connection with an interstate cybercrime racket. The suspects are accused of defrauding a local resident of Rs 94.18 lakh by enticing him to download and invest through a fraudulent stock market application.
The scam, which was uncovered after a complaint by Rajiv Ramakrishna, occurred when the victim clicked on a social media advertisement promising high returns from stock market investments. Once the victim showed interest, he was added to a WhatsApp group called C6 Blackrock Stocks Pull Up, where he was further manipulated to share his details.
The fraudsters then introduced him to another WhatsApp group called C3 Angel Broking Customer Care, where they posed as customer service representatives. They directed the victim to download a fake app called ANGELBG, which falsely claimed to be a registered trading platform with SEBI credentials. The victim, believing in the legitimacy of the application, was convinced to deposit money in multiple installments.
Despite seeing initial profits on the app, when the victim attempted to withdraw the funds, he realized he had been scammed. By that point, he had already transferred a total of Rs 94.18 lakh to various accounts controlled by the fraudsters.
The police investigation revealed that the money was transferred to several bank accounts, 11 of which were linked to individuals who helped facilitate the scam. These arrested individuals, including Abrar Khan Pathan, Shahrukh Vohra, and others, were primarily responsible for managing and withdrawing the victim’s funds. The investigation also revealed that these suspects worked as part of a larger network, with the mastermind believed to be based in Delhi.
Authorities have so far arrested 17 individuals involved in this scam, and investigations continue to identify other potential victims.