Bengaluru: In a shocking case of fraud reported from Karnataka capital Bengaluru, a businessman was duped by a Facebook friend on pretext of company shares and IPOs at a discounted price prompting Cyber Police to register a case. Additional Commissioner of Police Dr. Chandragupta while confirming the development said that the complainant businessman got to know the accused through Facebook advertisement.
In his complaint, the 72-year-old complainant businessman said that the accused approached him as representative of a company, making him believe that the company would give shares and IPOs of various companies at a discounted price. The accused, who was in contact with the businessman through WhatsApp, took Rs 6.01 crore in installments from last December to February 8, the businessman said.
However, when he came to know that an investor from Kerala had filed a complaint against the companies, the businessman suspected that it was a fraud network and asked for his money back, but to no avail. He said that the accused are delaying the payment due to unknown reasons. Currently, the businessman who has lost the money has filed a complaint against the accused to the cyber crime station.
The police have registered a case based on the complaint and have started an investigation. Additional Commissioner of Police said that about 26 accounts were cheated by depositing money on the promise of giving shares and IPOs. “Every day 3 to 4 cases of cheating in the name of share trading are being reported. In such cases, the accused who get acquainted are invited to WhatsApp groups,” he said.
“Other members there encourage others by sending messages as if they have benefited. Such groups may or may not have other members, or fraudsters themselves may be members. They are deceiving people by putting money in different accounts and pretending to get profit,” he added.
