Pune: City residents who fell for the lure of earning quick money through online share-trading have collectively lost Rs452 crore to cybercriminals in 982 such fraud cases over the past two-and-a-half years.The city police began registering cases of this nature in 2023, and the numbers have continued to rise steadily since.Just last month, on April 8, a 75-year-old general physician from Hadapsar reported that he lost Rs12.31 crore between Jan 30 and March 20 to cybercriminals, who promised returns of 8–10% within a few months on online share-trading investments. The doctor, whose son is also a prominent medical professional, lost the amount in just 39 days after repeatedly transferring sums ranging from Rs30 lakh to Rs3 crore to the fraudsters, the police told TOI.In another case reported more recently on April 28, a 36-year-old software engineer from Shewalwadi near Hadapsar lost Rs2.3 crore between Jan 26 and March 11 after falling for the promise of high returns in a similar scam. The complainant, who works with an IT firm in Hadapsar, had been on leave for the past seven to eight months and exhausted her savings to the scam.On Jan 19 this year, a retired entrepreneur (85) from Hadapsar reported the biggest online share trading fraud case in the city, having been cheated of Rs22.03 crore.“These cases are occurring due to sheer ignorance and greed on the part of the complainants,” said deputy commissioner of police (Economic Offences Wing) Vivek Masal. He added, “In most cases, victims are contacted by fraudsters through messaging applications. In others, victims click on suspicious links disguised as advertisements on social media.”According to the senior police officer, “Most complainants, particularly software engineers, fall for schemes promising 10-15% monthly returns. In some cases, fraudsters even promise returns ranging from 300-800%. These figures appear highly attractive, prompting people to invest in fraudulent schemes.”“In the first four months of this year alone, we have registered 136 cases, including two high-value cases. We expect the number of such frauds to remain high this year as well. These cyberfraudsters are not affiliated or registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and other regulatory bodies. People should believe in only registered apps or agents with SEBI,” Masal said.Senior Inspector Swapnali Shinde of the Pune cyber police told TOI, “We are conducting awareness programmes in colleges, software companies, and housing societies. We also have a dedicated team spreading awareness through pamphlets and online campaigns. Despite these efforts, the number of cases remains high.”Police have also urged bank officials to remain vigilant when senior citizens attempt to break fixed deposits and to inquire about the purpose. In several instances, such intervention has helped prevent fraud.Cybercrime investigator and forensic expert Sandip Gadiya said, “Such cases were rare before the Covid-19 outbreak, but since 2021, there has been a surge. I receive calls from affected individuals almost daily. Post-pandemic, economic uncertainty has driven people to seek quick financial gains, and fraudsters are exploiting this mindset by offering unrealistically high returns.”“The fraudsters create fake trading applications using names similar to well-known companies to gain investors’ trust. In some cases, victims are even given initial returns for a month or two to build confidence,” he added.Explaining why tech professionals are often targeted, Gadiya said, “Nearly 90% of complainants in such cases are techies, followed by senior citizens. Tech professionals are always online, active on social media, and tend to trust what they see on their screens.”Complex recovery effortsPune city police said they freeze bank accounts into which victims transfer money and then trace the money trail. Howevery, the funds often pass through multiple layers of accounts — sometimes more than 1,000 — making recovery complex.Police use digital tools to track these transactions, and the accounts identified in the trail are seized.Masal said, “We have frozen bank accounts of fraudsters holding a total of Rs103.84 crore. This amount has been returned to the complainants after obtaining court permission.”Modus operandi of fraudstersPolice officers and experts pointed out that fraudsters typically use two main methods to target victims.In the first method, they add victims to messaging app groups, where “members” discuss high profits from share-trading and thank the group admin for successful tips. Influenced by these conversations, victims contact the admin, who then persuades them to invest and shares a link to a fake trading app. Once downloaded, the victim is defrauded.In the second method, fraudsters post advertisements on social media platforms. When users click on these ads, their contact details are captured and they are subsequently added to the aforementioned messaging groups, where the scam process begins.In both instances, the fraudsters share bank account details with the complainants, where the latter then transfer money to ostensibly buy high-value shares and IPOs, but instead get duped.
