A 39-year-old woman recently fell victim to an online share trading scam, losing nearly Rs 44 lakh after responding to an advertisement on Facebook. The woman, whose husband is a manager at a public sector bank, was initially attracted to the opportunity by the promise of significant profits.
According to her complaint, she first encountered the scam after clicking on a "Contact Us" button within the Facebook advertisement. She was then connected with a person named Sunita Singh, who presented herself as a trustworthy facilitator in share trading. Sunita assured the woman that investing through her would result in a 100% profit and claimed that her team would cover any losses.
On April 18, Sunita sent the woman a link to join a WhatsApp group named "A – Jupiter Research Institute." This group, which had 77 members, featured discussions about successful share trading profits. After observing these conversations for five days, the woman gained enough confidence to invest. She was then added to another, smaller WhatsApp group with just four members, managed by an individual named Aditya Saxena.
Saxena provided her with a link to download an app called Jambin, instructing her to open a virtual account and deposit an initial amount of Rs 10,000. After following these instructions, the woman saw a small profit of Rs 2,000, which encouraged her to continue investing. Saxena then advised her to invest in a scheme called "Black Trend." She was subsequently added to another WhatsApp group, "Avendus Finance Club G20," managed by Supriya Panwar, who promised discounts on purchasing shares in Black Trend. Convinced by these offers, both the woman and her husband invested heavily.
Over the course of 56 transactions, the woman transferred a total of Rs 43.87 lakh into various accounts provided by Saxena. However, when she attempted to withdraw her funds on June 12, she found herself unable to do so. Upon contacting Sunita, she was told that in order to retrieve her money, she would first need to deposit 30% of her purported profit into her trading account. The woman suggested that this amount be deducted from her profits, but Sunita rejected the idea, insisting that no withdrawal could be made until the deposit was completed.
Realizing she had been scammed, the woman promptly filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the Central Cyber Police Station in Worli. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of online scams and the need for vigilance when dealing with online investments.