Lured by stock market dreams, tech manager loses Rs 32 Lakh to online scam

Cyber criminals duped a resident of Jassowal village of Rs 32.15 lakh on the pretext of giving multiple returns by investing money in the stock market. After depositing the money, the victim got to know about the fraud. Following which, he filed a complaint.

The complainant, Navdeep Singh, told the police that he works as a manager in a tech data private company. On March 27, he searched information about investing in the stock market on Google, during which he opened and checked many links. While clicking on the links, he mistakenly sent a WhatsApp message to an unknown mobile number after which an unidentified person through the number asked him to invest money in ‘value share stocks’.

The suspect started showing dreams of good profits and eventually took the victim into confidence by introducing himself as ‘Bharat Mala’, CIO of Ventura Securities.

“I kept fulfilling all conditions asked by the person. Believing on the suspect and hoping for huge returns, I transferred Rs 32.15 lakh to two bank accounts given by him. Later, I realised that I was cheated as the person was a fraudster. Afterwards, I lodged a police complaint and after investigation, the police registered a case against the miscreant on Tuesday,” the complainant said.

Investigating officer ASI Jagroop Singh said after registering a case, further probe was launched by the police.

Similar incidents have occurred in the district in the past. Though the cyber wing has also been spreading awareness about such online frauds, people are falling prey to fraudsters.