Representative image of scam.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: A 39-year-old software engineer has lost over Rs 1.28 crore on the presumption that he was investing in the stock market.
The elaborate scam ran for nearly two months before the techie realised the con.
According to the police, Ravi S (name changed), a resident of Ramamurthy Nagar in eastern Bengaluru, received a WhatsApp message on September 13 about trading in the stock market. Since the “training” was free, he joined a Telegram group.
After spending a few days, he was approached by one Surendra Kumara Dubey, who claimed to trading leader. Ravi was told to open an “EMCEE Demat account” with the scamsters since it “would be an active tool similar to international investors”.
Without realising that he was being conned, Ravi clicked on a fraudulent website shared by scamsters and opened a “demat account” on it. Over two months, the techie wired the scamsters Rs 1,28,55,000.
Ravi told the police that he believed in the scheme as he was once able to withdraw Rs 85,036, which was credited to his checking account.
When Ravi attempted to withdraw Rs 20 lakh, he was informed that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US had blocked the trading due to a “high frequency” of investments and demanded 30% investment to “unblock”.
Further, he was asked to send the scamsters “tax” for withdrawing the investment. Ravi told the police that on December 8, the group was suddenly closed, he was removed and the scamsters stopped responding.