Man loses Rs 5.18 crore in share trading scam

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: Scams on social media platforms are on a rise and reports of people losing their hardearned money after falling for frauds are not new.

In a latest incident, a resident of Bengaluru allegedly lost a whopping Rs 5.18 crore lakh to cyber fraudsters in a fake share trading scam.

The victim, Ashok Thirupalappa, a resident of Sanjaynagar in Bengaluru stated in his complaint that he had received an anonymous url link on his WhatsApp with a message offering free trading tips to buy and sell stocks.

However that later turned out to be fake, he said. He claimed that the scammers lured him into downloading an apk (unauthorized or suspicious application) on his mobile phone using the url link that they had shared on his Whatsapp number.

The scamsters also had assured to provide him with tips to earn money from the invested amount.

After Ashok unsuspectedly entered the details including his bank account number into the application, the fraudsters debited money from his account in multiple transactions.

In total, he claimed to have lost Rs 5.18 crores to the scamsters. Noticing the SMS messages of money getting debited from his bank account, the victim immediately approached the Cyber wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) and filed a complaint.

In fake trading scams, fraudsters use simple tactics to lure gullible investors with promises of high returns.

Often the people recieve messages on Whatsapp or other social media accounts initially and fall victim to the scams.