In yet another share market scam, a 75-year-old retired ship captain from Colaba, Mumbai, lost Rs 11.1 crore. An unknown individual recruited the victim to a WhatsApp group and then promised him investment advice and ways to make money through share market investments. However, because the victim believed the scammers’ false promises, they were able to fool him into investing in a fraudulent program.
According to ET, the scam began on August 19 when the victim’s telephone number was added to a WhatsApp group named a well-known financial services organization. The group administrator identified herself as Anya Smith and often provided investing methods and stock market opportunities.
The victim thought the group was legitimate after seeing the messages and actions of other group members. He showed interest in their trading platform since he was an experienced stock market investor.
The con artists shared a link to download the business’ trading app with the victim after spotting his interest and adding him to another WhatsApp group. The victim began receiving notifications promoting different investment opportunities, such as institutional account trading, over-the-counter trading, and initial public offerings (IPOs), as soon as he downloaded the app.
The victim was even introduced to her acquaintances by the scammer, who persuaded him to move funds to many bank accounts to purchase the suggested stocks. The victim reportedly completed 22 transactions between September 5 and October 19.