Mumbai: A senior chemist based in Sharjah was duped out of Rs 1.2 crore in an investment scam. North Region Cyber Police registered a case of cheating based on a complaint received from his teenage son. Police are probing the case and are yet to make any arrests. The complainant and his wife live in Sharjah and work there. They are of Indian origin, and their family lives in Mumbai. On Aug 20, a woman named
Ananya Sharma messaged him over
WhatsApp with an offer to invest in the share market and make profits. She sent him a link to a WhatsApp group called ‘Antara Growth’. The group had 96 members. After the complainant joined the group, he noticed tips shared by other members and their experiences in investing and earning profits.
Sharma claimed she was a registered broker and represented an evergreen fund. She sent him a link and asked him to fill in personal details, including passport and contact information. The complainant was convinced and did as instructed. He transferred money to bank accounts provided by Sharma for making investments.
The complainant “traded” using the link Sharma sent and saw a profit of Rs 6.19 crore. He tried to withdraw the profits but was unable to do so. He then contacted Sharma, who asked him to pay a 5% fee; otherwise, withdrawal would not be possible. The complainant then asked her to return his Rs 1.24 crore investment. But his calls went unanswered. Eventually, he realised he had been duped and contacted the cyber helpline ‘1930’.
