Mumbai Local Train Friendship Costs Indian Oil Corporation Employee Rs 68 Lakh in Cyber Fraud

In a major and shocking case of cyber fraud, a 57-year-old employee of Indian Oil Corporation was duped of Rs 68.60 lakh after being lured into a fake share trading investment scheme. The fraud allegedly began with a casual acquaintance during a local train journey and later unfolded into a well-planned cyber scam involving a bogus trading app, WhatsApp groups and fabricated profit figures.

The complainant, a resident of Borivali West, works with Indian Oil Corporation and commuted daily from Goregaon station to his office in Sewri via the Harbour Line since September 2025. During his commute, he came in contact with a man identified as Amit Patel, who claimed to be a successful stock market investor. Gradually gaining the victim’s trust, Patel persuaded him to invest in share trading by promising high returns.

The victim was added to a WhatsApp group and introduced to a mobile application named “RBK Trading.” Subsequently, a woman identified as Ankita Jain and another accused, Aseem Sharma, who posed as the ‘Chief Analyst’, contacted the victim and guided him through the investment process.

According to the complaint, the accused first collected the victim’s personal details through a Google Form and then asked him to download the RBK Trading app from the Play Store. Initially, small profits were reflected on the app to win his confidence. Encouraged by the apparent gains, the victim began transferring larger amounts in phases to multiple bank accounts provided by the accused.

Police records state that between December 2025 and February 2026, the victim transferred a total of Rs 68,60,900 to various bank accounts. The app later displayed inflated figures showing a supposed profit of over Rs 6.83 crore on his investment.

However, when the victim attempted to withdraw the amount, the accused demanded an additional Rs 34 lakh as brokerage fees. It was at this stage that he realised he had been cheated. Attempts to contact other members of the WhatsApp group proved futile as all numbers were found switched off.

The victim approached the cyber helpline 1930 on February 6, 2026, following which an FIR was registered on February 11. The police have booked Amit Patel, Ankita Jain, Aseem Sharma, the developers of the RBK Trading app, and the holders of the bank accounts where the funds were transferred under relevant sections of cheating and the Information Technology Act.

Cyber Cell officials stated that the case appears to be part of an organised cyber fraud racket and that interstate links are also being investigated.