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Bengaluru: A response from the Artificial Intelligence chatbot ChatGPT helped a retiree in Bengaluru avoid losing more money to cybercriminals.
The scammers had already cheated him of Rs 67.10 lakh through a fake investment scam.
The 77-year-old victim from Binnypet told the police that he was first approached by Yatin Shah, who claimed to be an advisor with IIFL Wealth Management on November 25. Shah told him he would help him get pre-Initial Public Offering (IPO) allotments in sizable quantities.
After signing an agreement, the victim deposited Rs 5 lakh at the scamster’s behest. He was informed that he had been allotted 150 shares of ICICI Prudential AMC, which indicated a profit of Rs 80,000, the FIR noted. The profit was only on paper, and no real trades were executed.
The victim was then directed to invest in another IPO, but this time, the demand was Rs 23.10 lakh. He made the payment and was allotted 2,24,000 shares at Rs 45 per share, which he said was far beyond his request.
The FIR further noted that the victim was offered a loan of Rs 36.79 lakh at 13 per cent on the condition that he pays Rs 42 lakh, after he told them he could not pay for the 2.24-lakh allotment. He agreed.
On January 1, he was asked to sell the holding of 2,24,000 shares at Rs 125 per share, which resulted in a profit of approximately Rs 2 crore. The FIR noted that when he requested to be paid Rs 40 lakh and have the loan amount cleared from the gains, his request was refused.
“This is when the complainant became alarmed and began investigating their background using ChatGPT. The complainant was shocked to discover that this was a fraudulent organisation and had many complaints against it,” stated the FIR, registered on January 3 at the Cyber Crime Police Station stated.
A probe is underway.