Pune: Cybercrooks duped three people of Rs 2.87 crore in online separate share-trading scams.A software engineer (42) of Bavdhan lodged a complaint with the Bavdhan police on Friday, stating that online fraudsters cheated him of Rs 1.23 crore between Dec 2025 and Jan by promising him over 500% returns.According to Bavdhan police, the victim’s cellphone number was added to a group on a messaging application where the fraudsters always discussed good returns earned by trading shares online. The group members always thanked the group admin for his tips on share trading.The victim, who was lured by these messages, contacted the group admin. The group admin promised him 500% returns on his investment in the trade of online shares. The fraudsters then sent him a link to a share trading application. The victim downloaded the application.The victim started trading shares of lesser value. The group admin then contacted the software engineer, asking him to invest in the high-value shares and IPOs. The victim agreed. The fraudster promised to help him in buying the high-value shares and IPOs.The fraudster then shared 6 different bank accounts with the victim and asked him to transfer money to the bank accounts so that the suspect could buy high-value shares for the victim, police said.Police said the victim then transferred money. The application, within a few days, showed a profit of over Rs 1 crore. When the victim decided to sell the shares for profit, the fraudsters kept asking for more money to allow him. The victim then realised that he was cheated.Similarly, a manager of an automobile company from Chinchwad lodged a complaint with the Pimpri-Chinchwad’s cyber police, stating that online scamsters cheated him of Rs 64.4 lakh by promising him handsome returns on his investment in the trade of online shares.Additionally, manager with a software company, a resident of Wakad, lodged a complaint with the cyber police, stating that the online fraudsters cheated him of Rs 1 crore by promising him handsome returns.Senior inspector Ravikiran Nale of the Pimpri Chinchwad’s cyber police station told TOI “We managed to freeze Rs 40 lakh out of the Rs 1 crore. We also managed to freeze over Rs 10 lakh in the Rs 64.4 lakh share-trading fraud case,” Nale said.
