Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
A woman lost Rs 34.87 lakh after investing in the stock market through an app she found via a Facebook advertisement. The app and the individuals she interacted with turned out to be fraudulent. A case was registered at the Jinsi police station on Saturday.
The accused have been identified as Shruti Sindhwani and Nitin Kavat. The fraud occurred between July 4 and 21 in the Jinsi Tower, Khasgate area. According to the complaint filed by Maryam Khan (35, resident of Jinsi Tower), her husband works as a branch manager with a reputed firm. On the night of July 4, while scrolling through Facebook reels, Maryam came across an advertisement claiming to offer stock market investment opportunities via Zerodha. She contacted the number provided in the ad via WhatsApp and expressed interest. The next morning, a woman identifying herself as Shruti Sindhwani responded. She shared investment details and sent Maryam a link to join a WhatsApp group. Upon clicking the link, an app named Lumien Max opened. Shruti claimed it was a Demat account platform through which share market investments would be made. She also provided a bank account number for fund transfers.
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Initial profits lure victim into deeper trap
Maryam initially invested Rs 5,000 and then Rs 20,000. When she was shown small profits, her confidence grew. Subsequently, the fraudsters convinced her to invest higher amounts. Using fake profit visuals, they managed to collect Rs 5 lakh, Rs 8 lakh, and eventually Rs 14 lakh, accumulating to a total of Rs 34.87 lakh. To maintain the illusion, the scammers even sent her a fake “Zerodha Winning Certificate.” The Lumien Max app falsely displayed substantial profits, while the money was being siphoned off into the scammers’ accounts. When Maryam tried to withdraw her money, the fraudsters demanded a 15% tax payment. They also sent a fake letter bearing a SEBI registration number. Trusting this, Maryam paid an additional Rs 25,000. Even then, no money was returned. They later demanded a 20% brokerage fee, which made her realize the scam. She promptly filed a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and then approached Jinsi police station, where a formal FIR was registered. The investigation is being led by police inspector Shivaji Budhwant.
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Victim's relative: 'They didn’t even give her a second to think'
Speaking to Lokmat Times, a relative of the victim said, “The scammers were extremely convincing. They didn’t even allow her a second to think. That’s the most dangerous part. Such fake ads frequently appear while scrolling reels on social media platform, yet there seems to be no proper filter or restriction in place.”