Retired Pune IT professional duped of Rs 4.43 crore in investment scam

Pune: A major cyber fraud case involving more than Rs 4.43 crore has surfaced in Pune, where a retired IT professional was allegedly duped by fraudsters posing as investment experts on WhatsApp and Telegram.

The accused reportedly lured the victim with promises of extraordinary returns through stock market investments and displayed fictitious profits worth over Rs 26 crore on a fake online trading platform before demanding additional payments in the name of service charges.

According to the complaint, the victim, 46-year-old Ujjwal Digambar Chaudhary, is a resident of Roseland Residency in the Pimple Saudagar area of Pune and a retired IT professional.

He had been actively investing in the stock market for nearly 15 years and, after returning to India in October 2025, continued managing his investment portfolio from home.

The complaint states that on March 29, while browsing news-related content on Telegram, Chaudhary came across an investment advertisement linked to an account identified as “Amit20891.”

The advertisement claimed to offer substantial returns on investments and invited users to join a WhatsApp group named “663 HSBC Stock Analysis Team” to receive stock market guidance and investment opportunities.

Trusting the claims made in the advertisement, Chaudhary joined the WhatsApp group. According to the complaint, individuals identified as Myra Sharma and Surendra Rosha were functioning as administrators of the group.

Members regularly shared stock market recommendations and allegedly claimed that investments made through their strategies generated exceptionally high returns.

The complainant alleged that several participants in the group frequently posted screenshots showing profits ranging from 25 per cent to 75 per cent, creating an impression that the recommendations were genuine and highly successful.

According to the complaint, Chaudhary initially followed some of the stock suggestions using his own regular Demat and trading accounts and reportedly earned profits. These gains strengthened his confidence in the group and its administrators.

The fraud allegedly escalated when the original WhatsApp group was shut down, purportedly for security reasons. Thereafter, the complainant was added to several other groups, including “669 HSBC Quantitative Strategy Team,” “668 Internal VIP Strategy Team,” and “663 HSBC Wealth Creation Group.”

Investigators said the accused gradually convinced the victim that greater profits could be earned through a specialised internal trading mechanism.

The complaint alleges that Myra Sharma subsequently sent multiple website links through private messages and group communications, directing the complainant to create what was described as an “internal equity account.”

The websites cited in the complaint include tradevolume.cc, app.workup.vip, mapp.parretaksfe.top, happ.makefildsk.club, happ.gamalte.one and japp.proshavacn.qpon, among others.

The complainant alleged that these websites were presented as investment platforms connected to the purported trading operation.

According to the complaint, the accused repeatedly instructed him to transfer funds into various bank accounts for investment purposes. Believing the investment opportunity to be genuine, Chaudhary allegedly transferred a total of Rs 4,43,25,000 from his IDFC Bank account into 34 separate bank accounts over a period of time.

The complaint further states that after the investments were made, the online platform displayed a profit figure of Rs 26,64,46,237 against the deposited amount in the so-called “internal equity account” as of June 1, 2026.

Encouraged by the displayed returns, the complainant sought to withdraw the amount. However, according to the complaint, the accused informed him that withdrawals could only be processed after the payment of a service charge equivalent to five per cent of the displayed profits.

The victim alleged that Myra Sharma specifically informed him that a payment exceeding Rs 1 crore was mandatory before any withdrawal request could be processed and that no amount would be released without the service charge being deposited first.

It was at this stage, according to the complaint, that Chaudhary began to suspect that he had become the target of a sophisticated fraud scheme.

Subsequently, on June 1, he filed a complaint through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP), alleging that the administrators of the WhatsApp groups, the operators of the websites, the holders of the associated mobile numbers, the recipients of the transferred funds and their associates had collectively cheated him of crores of rupees under the guise of investment opportunities.

Based on the complaint, police have registered a case against the accused under Sections 316(2), 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.

Cybercrime experts have advised investors to be wary of claims promising extraordinary returns on social media, Telegram, or WhatsApp, and to thoroughly verify the legitimacy of any unauthorised platform or unknown bank account before depositing money for investment purposes.

The investigation is continuing, and authorities are working to trace the flow of funds and identify all those involved in what appears to be a carefully orchestrated online investment fraud worth several crores of rupees.

Further details are awaited.

IANS