Bengaluru man swindled of Rs 6.54 crore in online trading scam
Bengaluru: In a massive online trading scam, a director of a private company in Bengaluru has reportedly lost Rs 6.54 crore after being lured by scammers promising him a ‘1500 percent return’ on investments through a fake online stock trading app.
Senior police officers believe this incident is among the largest sums lost by an individual victim to the trading scam in the capital city this year. According to a report by Deccan Herald on Monday, the 56-year-old man whose company manufactures semiconductor LED drivers, lamps and displays, used to trade in stocks through his demat account. He received a WhatsApp message on August 11 this year from an unknown number inviting him to join ‘NUUAMA ELITE GROUP’ for “classes” on trading and investment. He was subsequently added to the group by an individual named Aniketh Nerkar.
According to the FIR, he attended online classes where investment strategies were shared for nearly a month. An officer noted that some tips shared in the group appeared to be accurate. “This is one way the scamsters convince the potential victims,” a police officer told DH, adding that they have learnt that the tips the scammers offer will be on the stocks that are already on the way up or have the potential to go up the following days.
The victim was astonished to see the “success stories” shared on the WhatsApp group and was allegedly told he would get a “1,500% return on his investments”.
The officer added that scammers post the screenshots of their gains to psychologically convince the victim that the scheme is genuine and the same happened in this case.
Eventually, Kumar began transferring money after downloading a trading app shared by the scammers. Between the start of the scam and October 14, he wired Rs 6.54 crore to 12 different bank accounts.
Throughout the process, the app displayed simulations indicating that Kumar was making significant profits from his investments. However, when he attempted to withdraw his funds, he was asked to pay Rs 2.5 crore in fees. This prompted him to file a complaint with the cybercrime police on October 16.
A senior officer told the publication that the investigators have begun freezing the primary (first beneficiary) bank accounts and tracing the money trail and added that all accounts used in this case were “mule accounts”. A team led by Tanveer SR, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Northeast CEN), is probing the case.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
