Pune: A retired bank officer (64) lost Rs 58.41 lakh after cybercrooks lured him to trade shares for handsome returns between Aug and Oct last year.The man had submitted a complaint application to the Pune cyber police about two months ago. After verification, a formal FIR was registered on Tuesday.Senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of the Pune cyber police said, “The retired officer had been browsing the internet when he came across an advertisement urging people to invest in shares and earn handsome profits within a few months.”According to the FIR, the retired man clicked on the advertisement and received a link through a messaging application. As soon as he clicked on the link, his cellphone number was added to a group on the messaging application.The police said the group members discussed the prospects of investing in online share trading and earning higher returns, which they had allegedly earned. The complainant was impressed by the profits claimed by the group members and contacted the group administrator, who then promised him returns of 200%.The admin later sent him a link and asked him to download a mobile application. The complainant followed the instructions and began investing through the application, police said.The group admin contacted him again and promised to buy high-value shares and IPOs on the complainant’s behalf and shared details of six bank accounts.“The complainant transferred Rs 58.41 lakh to these accounts. The application later showed that his investment had grown to over Rs 1 crore. When he decided to sell those shares and withdraw profits, the fraudsters did not allow him to do so,” police said.
