It all started with an alleged WhatsApp notification. A woman’s name appeared on 50-year-old Indrapal Chauhan’s mobile screen, he told police. What followed were recommendations for him to invest in the share market.
She allegedly spoke of opportunities, of the booming world of online trading, of profits that sounded too good. Soon, he said, he was added to a WhatsApp group. He then claimed to have received a link on the group to download an application for online trading. He downloaded the app.
Initially, the gains seemed real as he was able to withdraw Rs 9 lakh from the profits. But within 12 days, Singh, a Noida-based engineering consultant, was allegedly duped of nearly Rs 12 crore in an investment-related cyber fraud, said police.
The Noida Police on Wednesday registered an FIR against an unidentified woman under sections 318(4) (cheating) and 319(2)(cheating by personation) and relevant sections of IT Act.
In the FIR, Singh has been quoted as saying that on October 17, he received a message from a woman, who identified herself as Kiara Sharma, about the benefits of share market investment. “First I was added to a group, and then I downloaded an app from the link that was sent on the WhatsApp group. But on the same day, I was removed from that group and added to another, where other members shared the screenshots of the profits they made,” he told the police.
“I gradually believed that it was a genuine platform after being in the group for 17 days and being told about the guaranteed returns on 15% commission. In a total of nine transactions, I invested Rs 12 crore from different accounts. When I demanded my money back they returned Rs 9 lakh,” he told the police.
“When they demanded Rs 17 crore for an IPO investment, I realised that it was a cyber fraud,” he told the police in his complaint.
Story continues below this ad
Speaking with The Indian Express, Shavya Goyal, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, said that the man was an engineering consultant and had been investing in the share market for a while.
“We have begun the investigation and have requested for freezing accounts. The fraud unfolded in a period of 20 days and he believed it to be genuine as he was able to withdraw some amount,” she said.
