<p>Bengaluru: A retiree and a private firm employee have fallen victim to elaborate stock investment scams, losing over Rs 1 crore each.</p>.<p>In both cases, the scamsters impersonated ICICI Securities, which offers financial services.</p>.<p>The first case involved Ramakanth S (name changed), a 50-year-old manager at a reputable firm.</p>.Chhattisgarh liquor 'scam': ACB/EOW raids 13 places linked to aides of Congress MLA Lakhma.<p><strong>Added to WhatsApp groups </strong></p>.<p>According to the FIR registered by the West CEN police on May 5, Ramakanth was added to the M3 ICICI Stock Exchange Group on WhatsApp by an unknown person on March 1. He was later contacted by one Vinita Patodia from the same group, who informed him about investment opportunities with ‘ICICI Securities’.</p>.<p>Ramakanth told the police that there were around 190 members in the group, who constantly shared photographs of their supposed earnings. This led him to believe the opportunity was genuine.</p>.<p>Shortly after, a link was shared in the group, and Ramakanth downloaded the ICDirect App to begin trading. Unbeknownst to him, the app was fake, and the earnings displayed in it were fabricated.</p>.<p>Believing he was genuinely earning money, Ramakanth transferred Rs 1,15,10,894 to bank accounts shared by the scammers, with the “investment” reflected in the fake app. But when he tried to withdraw the money, he was asked to pay various fees, taxes, and other charges.</p>.<p>In the second case, Sitharaman Rao (name changed), a retired government employee, was added to a WhatsApp group called K6 ICICI Stock Exchange, which had 143 members, on March 17.</p>.<p>Soon, a person claiming to be Vinita Patodia contacted Rao and later shared links redirecting him to an “investment web portal”.</p>.<p>After registering, Rao transferred Rs 1,05,10,669 to bank accounts provided by the scamsters, while the dubious portal showed fabricated profits from his trades.</p>.<p>"The amount lost by the complainant constituted his entire retirement fund," said a senior cybercrime investigator probing the case, which was registered by the East CEN police on May 9.</p>.<p>"When the complainant attempted to withdraw, he was unable to do so. Upon questioning them, he was blocked from all communication, and that’s when he realised it was a scam," the FIR noted.</p>.<p>The police have begun tracing the bank accounts to identify the perpetrators.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: A retiree and a private firm employee have fallen victim to elaborate stock investment scams, losing over Rs 1 crore each.</p>.<p>In both cases, the scamsters impersonated ICICI Securities, which offers financial services.</p>.<p>The first case involved Ramakanth S (name changed), a 50-year-old manager at a reputable firm.</p>.Chhattisgarh liquor 'scam': ACB/EOW raids 13 places linked to aides of Congress MLA Lakhma.<p><strong>Added to WhatsApp groups </strong></p>.<p>According to the FIR registered by the West CEN police on May 5, Ramakanth was added to the M3 ICICI Stock Exchange Group on WhatsApp by an unknown person on March 1. He was later contacted by one Vinita Patodia from the same group, who informed him about investment opportunities with ‘ICICI Securities’.</p>.<p>Ramakanth told the police that there were around 190 members in the group, who constantly shared photographs of their supposed earnings. This led him to believe the opportunity was genuine.</p>.<p>Shortly after, a link was shared in the group, and Ramakanth downloaded the ICDirect App to begin trading. Unbeknownst to him, the app was fake, and the earnings displayed in it were fabricated.</p>.<p>Believing he was genuinely earning money, Ramakanth transferred Rs 1,15,10,894 to bank accounts shared by the scammers, with the “investment” reflected in the fake app. But when he tried to withdraw the money, he was asked to pay various fees, taxes, and other charges.</p>.<p>In the second case, Sitharaman Rao (name changed), a retired government employee, was added to a WhatsApp group called K6 ICICI Stock Exchange, which had 143 members, on March 17.</p>.<p>Soon, a person claiming to be Vinita Patodia contacted Rao and later shared links redirecting him to an “investment web portal”.</p>.<p>After registering, Rao transferred Rs 1,05,10,669 to bank accounts provided by the scamsters, while the dubious portal showed fabricated profits from his trades.</p>.<p>"The amount lost by the complainant constituted his entire retirement fund," said a senior cybercrime investigator probing the case, which was registered by the East CEN police on May 9.</p>.<p>"When the complainant attempted to withdraw, he was unable to do so. Upon questioning them, he was blocked from all communication, and that’s when he realised it was a scam," the FIR noted.</p>.<p>The police have begun tracing the bank accounts to identify the perpetrators.</p>