Watch out for fraudulent stock market suggestions, says Bengaluru Police

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: With the ease of access to the advanced Artificial Intelligence technology, even fraudsters are now adopting unique ways to lure smartphone users and siphon off their hardearned money.

During a conference on Tuesday, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda alerted the citizens to remain vigilant and be wary of strangers offering stock recommendations or online chat groups discussing coordinated share purchases.

In a latest incident, a techie from Kothanur, Ayyappa, allegedly lost Rs 96 lakh after he was lured into joining a Telegram chat group where fraudsters, identifying themselves as investment gurus or shares trading experts, promised to advise him on stock market.

The victim alleged that he was asked to download an application on which he had shared bank and PAN details.

Further he said that he was lured into investing Rs 96 lakh within 75 days. He filed a complaint with the cyber police when he realised that he had lost all his savings.

Speaking to News Trail, Ayyappa said that he had received an SMS on his mobile phone in November last year which offered to provide tips to invest and earn profit from the stock market.

The URL link in the message redirected him to a Telegram group named 'Elite Team 18.'

He was introduced to a woman in the group who further asked him to download an app and share his bank details through it. The victim also said he saw various users posting their success stories in the group.

Unbeknownst that they were fake accounts, the victim fell into the trap and lost his money. Similar cases already under a probe by NorthEast Police.

The Bengaluru North-East, Cyber Economics and Narcotics (CEN) police have registered a case under Information Technology Act 66(D) (any communication device or computer resource cheats by personation) and IPC sections 419 (punishment for cheating), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) into the matter.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, North-East, Laxmi Prasad, said there are already three fraud cases related to stock market investments registered within a week.

The senior official said that one of the victims got cheated of Rs 14 lakh; another man lost around Rs 20 lakh while yet another lost around Rs 96 lakh.

The fraudsters collect numbers from Telegram and target wellearning people like businessmen and techies. They only contact prospective investors through WhatsApp calls.

People who have a desire to earn more from the stock market are easily fooled by such fraudsters, he said.