Fake stock market advisers steal $188K from Indian investor

An Indian investor has lost more than Rs. 1.69 crore (approximately $188,000) to criminals posing as stock market advisors. The Indian investor, based in Hyderabad, registered a complaint with the Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police. The police have since launched an investigation into the case.

According to the Indian police, the 38-year-old victim, who hails from Basheerbagh, was added to a Telegram channel in October by the administrators posing as stock market analysts. The criminals claimed they worked for a firm based in Singapore, promising to help their new investors make money from the stock and digital assets market. After a while, other members started flooding the chat with screenshots of their return on investment, a ploy to further convince their recruits.

Indian investor scammed of $188K

According to the complaint, the Indian national mentioned that the fraudsters then asked them to register on a platform that shared the same look as a trading portal. After registering, they were also asked to complete an online KYC, another move to fully capture their details. The victim told the police that he first deposited money through UPI on October 15, and two days after, he was able to withdraw his earnings, a move that gave him confidence to pour in larger sums.

The Indian man noted that after his first withdrawal, he went through the next few months making huge deposits on the platform. He claimed that he deposited more than Rs. 1.68 crore through 21 transactions, sending it to the different bank accounts provided by the criminals. The criminals, whom he only identified as Steven, Viswanath, and Mary, assured him that he was accruing profits through his wave of investments in their products.

The victim also mentioned that another move that sold him on the program was that they manipulated their website to show that his investments were yielding profits. He highlighted that he was confident he was in the right investment program because he was making profits, which were shown on his portal on the website. However, trouble started when he wanted to withdraw his funds from the platform. The Indian investor claimed that he started encountering challenges.

Police kickstart investigations into cybercriminals

The investor mentioned that after he tried to withdraw without success, he referred the administrators to the problem. However, they only told him that he had to pay some fees to be able to withdraw his funds. “They refused withdrawals unless I paid successive taxes and compliance deposits,” the victim said. The victim claimed he realized he was being defrauded after the criminals demanded Rs. 60 lakh as the additional amount towards the payments.

He added that things started becoming fishy after they reduced his payment to Rs. 30 lakh after he expressed his inability to come up with the payment. The Indian police has registered the case under Sections 66-C, 66-D of the IT Acts and Sections 111(2)(b) (Organized crime), 318(4) (Cheating), 319(2) (Cheating by personation), 336(3) (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 338 (Forgery of valuable security, will, etc.) and 340(2) (Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Meanwhile, the Indian police have reiterated their claim to go after cybercriminals and crypto thieves. According to a recent Cryptopolitan report, the ED blew its investigation into a nationwide operation against cyber fraud. The agency identified a large money laundering network that routed criminal proceeds through layers of traditional banking channels and cryptocurrency platforms. In addition, it attached funds held in about 92 bank accounts and wallets on CoinDCX as part of its operation.