Lucknow: A man from Lucknow’s Golf City area has allegedly lost Rs 1.27 crore in an online stock investment scam after fraudsters lured him with promises of guaranteed returns of up to 30%. The cybercriminals initially showed profits on small investments to gain his confidence before persuading him to transfer larger sums of money.The victim, Arshad Ahmad, a resident of Devamau in Golf City, approached the cyber police after realising that he had been duped.According to his complaint, unidentified persons contacted him on WhatsApp a few months ago and offered him an opportunity to invest in the stock market. He was subsequently added to a WhatsApp group with around 1,000 members.The group regularly shared screenshots showing purported profits from stock investments and information about so-called expert mentors. The activity was designed to convince members that the investment platform was genuine and that high returns could be earned.Arshad said he initially invested Rs 10,000, after which the platform showed a profit of around 30%. He later invested another Rs 20,000, and the platform displayed a profit of approximately 25%.The purported profits increased his confidence in the scheme, following which the fraudsters allegedly persuaded him to make progressively larger investments.According to the complaint, Arshad’s total investment eventually crossed Rs 50 lakh. When he attempted to withdraw his money, the withdrawal facility was allegedly blocked.The fraudsters then told him that he needed to invest another Rs 10 lakh before the withdrawal could be processed. They subsequently demanded additional amounts in the name of taxes, GST, processing charges and other fees.Trusting the claims, Arshad continued transferring money into different bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.Arshad claimed that he ultimately transferred approximately Rs 1.27 crore through multiple transactions to different bank accounts. He said the transactions are reflected in his bank statements.When the promised withdrawal was not processed despite repeated payments, he realised that he had fallen victim to a cyber fraud.He subsequently approached the cyber police station and lodged a complaint.Inspector Alok Rao said a case had been registered and investigators were examining the financial transactions to trace the money trail.
