Man loses Rs 38 lakh in share-trading scam in Thane, case registered

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A 40-year-old man lost nearly Rs 38 lakh in a share-trading scam in Thane, an official said on Friday, reported news agency PTI.

In his complaint to the Shil-Daighar police, the man said he was associated with a share-trading platform between February and March.

The man, who works for an aviation company, said he invested some money and saw his profits rise to Rs 94 lakh. When he tried to withdraw the profits, he was told to deposit a certain sum with the company, reported PTI.

In all, he shelled out Rs 37.7 lakh, the official said. However, those communicating with the complainant stopped responding after receiving the money, reported PTI.

Realising that he had been duped in the share-trading scam in Thane, the man approached the police, the official said, adding that a case was registered on Thursday, reported PTI.

In another case, a 47-year-old man from Navi Mumbai was allegedly duped of Rs 46 lakh by fraudsters posing as officials from the Mumbai cyber police, who threatened to register a case of money laundering and drugs against him, police said on Friday, reported PTI.

The police on Thursday registered a case under section 420 (cheating) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act against four persons, an official said.

As per the complaint, the accused allegedly posed as officials of the Mumbai cyber police and contacted the victim, a resident of Nerul, on WhatsApp, claiming that they had received a complaint of money laundering and drugs against him, he said, reported PTI.

The accused demanded money from the complainant to avoid a police case, and he transferred Rs 46 lakh to different bank accounts between April 10 and 15, the official said, reported PTI.

No arrests have been made so far, and a probe has been initiated, he said.

Meanwhile, a sum of Rs 35.12 lakh that a businessman lost to online fraudsters has been recovered, a Mumbai police official said on Thursday, reported PTI.

The victim, a resident of south Mumbai, had alerted police immediately, which allowed the cyber cell of the Crime Branch to act swiftly, he added.

"Fraudsters posing as police and Income Tax department personnel duped the businessman of Rs 35.12 lakh after telling him there was a parcel in his name, which had led them to some unauthorised transactions done by him," the official told PTI.

"After he was forced the transfer the amount, the businessman sensed something amiss and immediately alerted police on its cyber helpline 1930. The bank's nodal officer was contacted and the money was recovered," the official told PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)