Pune doctor loses Rs 95 lakh in stock scam, saved from bigger loss by Delhi cyber police call
A senior ophthalmologist in Pune lost Rs 95 lakh in an online share trading scam but was prevented from losing an additional Rs 1.59 crore after a timely warning from the Delhi Cyber Crime Cell, according to police.
The 50-year-old doctor was lured through a Facebook advertisement promising high returns on stock market investments. After entering a company name on a website advertised as offering free stock analysis, he was contacted on WhatsApp and added to an investment group with over 90 members, police said.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered by Pune cyber police on July 26, group administrators posed as representatives of a reputed investment firm. They instructed the doctor to download a fake trading application, complete 'KYC formalities', and start investing. The fraudsters promised daily returns and high profits from block trades and IPO subscriptions.
To build trust, the scammers first asked for a small investment. The app showed immediate profits, and the doctor was allowed to withdraw Rs 11,000 in three transactions. Believing the platform was genuine, he continued investing larger sums.
Between June 24 and July 16, the doctor transferred money in multiple installments to various bank accounts shown on the app. Payments ranged from Rs 1,000 to Rs 55 lakh, totalling around Rs 95 lakh, an investigating officer said.
The app later displayed his investment had grown to over Rs 2.03 crore. However, when he tried to withdraw, the request was denied. The administrators then demanded an additional Rs 1.59 crore, claiming a larger IPO allocation had been made in his name. The doctor became suspicious.
Last week, he received a call from a Delhi Cyber Crime Cell officer who informed him that his transactions on July 4 and July 5 had been credited to bank accounts already flagged in fraud complaints. The caller said those accounts were suspected mule accounts.
The warning alerted the doctor, preventing him from transferring the additional Rs 1.59 crore. The next day, he reported the fraud via the National Cyber Crime Helpline (1930) and the cybercrime portal, then approached Pune police.
Police are tracing the money trail through the beneficiary accounts. Investigators noted this case follows a common pattern in online share trading scams: victims are lured through social media ads, shown fabricated profits on fake platforms, allowed small withdrawals to build trust, and then pressured to transfer large sums before being locked out.
