Surat: A 26-year-old engineer lost Rs 13 lakh in a stock trading fraud after being lured with promises of high daily returns. The victim lodged an FIR on Friday at the Cybercrime police station, stating that he was defrauded between June 12 and Aug 22.According to the complaint, the engineer searched online for stock trading options. A few days later, he received a call from a woman who introduced herself as Siddhi Munot. When he asked about stock-related details, she provided information about a company’s shares and advised him to use a particular firm’s trading services. She assured him of over 5% daily profit.After the complainant agreed, Siddhi sent him a chat group link on WhatsApp. Once he clicked it, his number was added to a group where members were discussing profits they claimed to have earned through the recommended trading service. The complainant was then asked to register on a trading website and transfer Rs 1.50 lakh to begin.As instructed by the callers, he carried out stock buy and sale transactions on platforms shown to him. After one such transaction, the website displayed a profit of Rs 1,816, and he was permitted to withdraw Rs 1,800, which increased his confidence in the service.Encouraged by the apparent quick gains, the complainant transferred a total of Rs 13 lakh in multiple transactions, as directed. After several trades, the website showed that he had earned profits of Rs 16.47 lakh. However, when he attempted to withdraw the amount, Siddhi demanded an additional Rs 7 lakh, claiming it was required for “additional stocks allotted” and that withdrawal would be allowed only after payment.When he was not permitted to withdraw the purported profits, the engineer realised he had been cheated and approached police.
