Mumbai: Three held for Rs 69-lakh share trading scam on Facebook

The accused lured the victim swith the promise of expert trading tips. Representational pic/iStock

The Mumbai Cyber Police (North Division) have arrested three men in a Rs 69-lakh share trading scam. The accused had lured the victim via a fake stock advisory link on Facebook, leading to a WhatsApp group.

The complainant, Sanjay Kishore Prajapati, 37, said he was browsing Facebook when he encountered the link promising expert guidance on stock market trading. Upon clicking it, he was added to a WhatsApp group run by unknown individuals who presented themselves as market experts. Following their investment advice, Prajapati ended up transferring Rs 8.92 lakh into various accounts over the time.

Police have found that one of those accounts was fraudulently opened in the name of a 77-year-old retired Navy officer, and was used to route R2.1 lakh. The accused created the account using forged documents and a SIM card issued in a watchman's name. The account has been linked to 90 cyber fraud complaints
registered with the National Cyber Crime Reporting (NCCR) portal.

The accused have been identified as Sachin Sitaram Sawant, Umesh Dinesh Vishwakarma, and Vibham Ashok Mishra. Sawant is said to be the mastermind behind the racket.

90
No. of cyber fraud complaints linked to the scam account, according to the cyber police