Hyderabad: One held in stock trading fraud

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad cyber crime police have apprehended a person involved in a stock-trading fraud case. He has been involved in 16 cases across India and three cases in Telangana.

The police arrested Lalit Kumar Jayswal (33) of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. His cases were reported in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Delhi and Telangana. They seized cell phones, a laptop, debit cards, and cheque books from him.

According to the police, the victim was automatically added to a WhatsApp group named Fidelity International Wealth Centre, where members share screenshots of profits from stock-trading. Convinced by their claims, he opened an equity-trading account and invested money, lured by promises of 10X profits and discounted prices. He used two websites to manage his account. However, after transferring Rs 6.2 lakh, the scammers demanded additional funds. When he refused, they threatened to withhold his investment, blacklist him, and block from the channel.

The cyber crime police informed that fraudsters are contacting victims through social media platforms – Telegram, WhatsApp calls and messages and offering double or triple profits in a short time through stock trading. They display huge returns in their application initially, allowing withdrawals to a certain extent to build trust, proposing investments with promises of substantial profits. They further show virtual profits to lure victims into investing more and blocking withdrawals once larger amounts are invested.