Bengaluru: The promise of lucrative profits and IPO allotments came with a costly catch for a 55-year-old employee of a private firm, who ended up losing almost Rs 1.3 crore to cybercrooks.The victim, Suresh (name changed), told police the fraud took place between July 7 and Sept 4. The fraudsters contacted him through WhatsApp, introducing themselves as Sonal Jagannath, who claimed to be a relationship manager, and Kunal Sumaya, who purportedly headed a ‘Julius Baer’ wealth management division. They also operated a WhatsApp group named ‘D036 Julius Baer Wealth,’ where investment plans and stock recommendations were shared.The crooks introduced him to a purported institutional investment programme, called “high net worth development programme,” where they guided him on how to make investments and instructed him to download an application called “JB X One.” The app mimicked the Zurich-headquartered Julius Baer’s branding and falsely displayed affiliations with Securities and Exchange Board of India, National Stock Exchange, and Bombay Stock Exchange.The platform showed live stock prices, block-trade allocations, IPO allotments, and substantial profits. The fraudsters claimed the programme could generate returns of around 980% within six months.Initially, Suresh was allowed to withdraw some funds, which helped reinforce his confidence in the platform. However, when he participated in IPOs, the fraudsters showed allocations exceeding the funds available in his account and asked him to transfer additional money.Suresh said the stock recommendations appeared highly accurate, with the prices of shares rising as predicted the following day. The crooks claimed nearly 99% of the promised profits had been achieved, prompting investors to continue transferring money.The situation changed when Suresh attempted to withdraw his capital and purported profits. His account was locked on the pretext of “settlement,” after which the crooks demanded a 10% service/brokerage fee. He was warned that withdrawals would not be permitted until payment was made.Suresh said the fraudsters claimed the project was a confidential HNW programme and could not be verified through regular bank branches. They cited regulatory approvals and provided multiple individual and corporate bank accounts for receiving funds.Suresh refused to make any further payment and approached the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). On Sept 16, he lodged a complaint with East cybercrime police station. “We are investigating the beneficiary accounts, transaction trails, phone numbers and WhatsApp communications. The fraudsters falsely claimed to be associates of Julius Baer,” a senior officer said.GFX (optional)* Two-month fraud: Victim was targeted between July 7 and Sept 4* Fake ‘Julius Baer’ platform offered IPO allotments, stock tips and claimed 980% returns in six months* Small initial withdrawals helped build the victim’s confidence in the fake platform* Account locked during withdrawal, followed by demand for a 10% service/brokerage fee
