Mumbai woman searches internet for learning stock trading, loses Rs 27 lakh

An unidentified man has been booked by the cyber crime police for allegedly cheating a Malabar Hill resident of Rs 27 lakh by promising to teach her stock market trading. The complainant, a woman in her 50s, had searched the internet for someone who could teach her about stock trading. After submitting her details, she received a WhatsApp call from a person claiming to be Aditya Agarwal, according to a police official.

The caller, posing as Agarwal, offered to guide the woman and advised her to invest in a particular scheme to earn a 10% profit. He asked her to download a non-genuine app and provided her with various bank account numbers to transfer money for investment. Tempted by the promise of a 10% profit, the woman transferred money multiple times into the provided accounts. However, when she tried to transfer money from the virtual wallet to her bank account, she found that she couldn't do it. She reached out to the person for assistance but received no response and was subsequently unable to log in, the official explained.

Distressed by the situation, the woman approached the police for help. On Tuesday, the crime branch's south region cyber crime police station registered an FIR against the accused for cheating, forgery, and identity theft under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. "The accused had provided Indian bank account numbers," revealed an official. Investigators are currently working on gathering details of the bank accounts and the SIM card linked to the accused.


In light of this incident, law enforcement officials are urging individuals interested in stock trading or wanting to learn about the stock market to contact authorized brokers. "Authorized brokers never ask for money to be sent to different accounts. It is important to conduct thorough enquiries before proceeding," stated an official.