A woman from Greater Noida, Meenu Rani, was defrauded of over Rs 51 lakh in a sophisticated online stock trading scam. The scam involved a combination of social engineering tactics, including the use of WhatsApp groups and Amazon gift vouchers to build trust before convincing her to invest in a fake stock trading scheme.
Rani was added to a WhatsApp group where she was contacted by a woman named Aarti Singh. Aarti informed her that Hari Singh, who claimed to have 15 years of experience in stock market investments, had purchased Rs 1,000 Amazon gift vouchers to help women in the group. When Rani used one of these vouchers, Rs 1,000 was credited to her Amazon account, increasing her trust in Hari Singh
Hari Singh convinced Rani that investing in the stock market through their platform could yield three to five times her investment within a month. Initially, she was asked to invest Rs 50,000. After transferring the money, she saw her "profit" appearing on an app provided by the scammers, further solidifying her trust.
Encouraged by the apparent profits, Rani continued investing larger amounts, eventually totaling Rs 51.50 lakh. She even borrowed money from her husband, mother-in-law, and other relatives to invest further.
Rani realised she had been scammed when she approached an acquaintance for a loan and was warned about the fraudulent scheme. When she demanded her money back, the fraudsters cut off all contact.
Rani filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime police station, and a case was registered under the Information Technology Act. Out of the total amount invested, Rs 4.80 lakh has been frozen, and efforts are underway to recover the remaining funds.