Pune techie loses ₹91 lakh in online trading scam

A tech worker from Dhanori has been tricked out of Rs 91.41 lakh by online fraudsters posing as share traders. He was attracted by small profits but ended up losing a significant amount in just two months. Cybercrime police are now investigating the case. The 42-year-old man reported that the scam started in December 2024. His phone number was added to a messaging group where members shared fake profits from stock trading. This led him to contact the group admin, who convinced him to download a fraudulent trading app that looked real. Initially, the techie invested Rs 50,000. He quickly saw a profit of Rs 9,000, which he was able to withdraw. This made him trust the app even more. Encouraged by this early success, he was then advised to invest larger sums for bigger gains. The scammers provided details of six bank accounts, and he transferred a total of Rs 91 lakh in seven separate transactions. When he attempted to cash in on his shares, the fraudsters blocked him and demanded more money to release his funds. Realizing he had been scammed, he reported the incident to cybercrime police. Authorities are warning others to be careful when investing online and to check the legitimacy of any trading platforms before proceeding.