Vizag man loses over Rs 1.4 crore in fake stock trading scam

Visakhapatnam: In yet another incident of investment fraud, a man from Vizag lost over Rs 1.45 crore in a fake stock trading scheme. The 60-year-old man mentioned in his complaint that an unknown person contacted him through WhatsApp, who introduced himself as a representative of an investment firm. The man was lured into a fake stock trading scheme through WhatsApp groups, and he was added to two WhatsApp groups named Nirmal Bang 596, where he was persuaded to invest in shares.The cybercrooks told the victim to invest in online trading to get huge returns in a short period, citing that some people have invested money and earned double profits within a few months.When the fraudsters repeatedly assured him of high returns and guided him to transfer the investment to multiple bank accounts, trusting their claims, he transferred a total of Rs 1.45 crore through multiple transactions.Upon demanding withdrawal of his funds, he was allegedly asked to pay an additional amount as a service charge" to release profits. Realising he had been cheated, the victim approached the police.Based on his complaint, an FIR has been registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act 2000, including provisions related to cheating, impersonation, and online fraud. Police officials confirmed that the accused remains unidentified, and an investigation is underway to trace the cyber fraud network and recover the siphoned funds. This is the third major case of investment fraud reported this month in Vizag. A few weeks ago, two people lost over Rs 1.2 crore each in fake trading scams.