Two Bengaluru residents lost over ₹2.15 crore to elaborate stock market scams run through fake trading platforms and WhatsApp groups, according to a Deccan Herald report.
Police said the victims were lured with staged social media interactions and professional-looking websites that mimicked real-time stock dashboards and returns, convincing them of genuine profits.
In one case, a 48-year-old businessman from Visvesvaraya Layout connected with a woman on Facebook claiming to be Ashmita Tiwari, a manager at Barclays Investment Bank in Mumbai. She directed him to a fraudulent website and added him to a WhatsApp group called CATALIST CUSTOMER SERVICE, where members appeared to share earnings and tips. Over three months, he transferred ₹1.54 crore before discovering the scam when he couldn’t withdraw his funds.
In a similar incident, a 30-year-old engineer from Vijayanagar joined a group named India Stock HUB12, where he was introduced to a fake platform mimicking Citadel Securities. He initially received a small payout of ₹90,000 on a ₹3.5 lakh investment — a tactic to build trust — but eventually lost ₹61.3 lakh over two months.
The West CEN Cyber Crime police have filed two separate FIRs and are investigating. Authorities suspect a larger syndicate behind the scam, which uses fake identities, cloned trading websites, and group psychology to dupe investors.