Ahmedabad: A 70-year-old retired professional on Wednesday filed a complaint with the cybercrime police after allegedly losing Rs 62 lakh in an online investment fraud. The complainant said the scam was run through a fake stock trading app and WhatsApp groups.According to police, the victim came across an online advertisement in Nov 2025 that promised high returns through stock market investments. After clicking on the advertisement, he was added to a WhatsApp group titled “v2-Angel One Customer Care”, where several individuals claimed to provide expert guidance on share trading and IPO investments. Soon after joining the group, the victim was contacted by people claiming to be senior executives of a brokerage company. The accused allegedly persuaded the victim to open a “Direct Market Access (DMA)” trading account and sent him a link to download a mobile application named “Angvandma”. Believing the claims to be genuine, the victim downloaded the app and completed registration by uploading personal details, including his Aadhaar and PAN information. Police said the accused then instructed him to transfer money to different bank accounts to purchase shares and subscribe to IPOs. Initially, the victim transferred small amounts and was even able to withdraw Rs 1.1 lakh, which strengthened his trust in the scheme. Later, the accused allegedly offered him a trading “loan” of Rs 10 lakh through the app to apply for multiple IPOs. Encouraged by promises of high profits, the victim continued transferring funds between Nov 2025 and Jan 2026. In total, he transferred Rs 63 lakh to multiple bank accounts shared by the accused. After adjusting the earlier withdrawal, the net loss amounted to about Rs 62 lakh. When the victim attempted to withdraw the balance and profits, the accused allegedly demanded money for additional charges and eventually stopped responding to his messages. The victim then contacted the national cybercrime helpline and filed a complaint with the cybercrime police.
