Retd Air Commodore loses ₹1.45 cr to cyber fraud

MUMBAI: A 63-year-old retired Air Commodore lost ₹1.45 crore to online share trading fraud after being approached by a gang on WhatsApp which lured him into making 16 bank transactions with the promise of huge returns. After the transactions, the complainant, who was made to believe he was investing in shares, noticed a balance of ₹8 crore in his virtual trading account, but could not withdraw it. This led him doubt the authenticity of the gang’s claims and he approached the West Cyber police who registered an FIR on March 5.

According to the police, the complainant, a retired Air Commodore, lives in Powai and is currently working in a private aviation company as a commercial pilot. In his complaint, he alleged that he was added to a WhatsApp group called ‘Point Bre’ on January 1. The people in the group discussed investment tips which piqued his interest.

The group admin persuaded him to install the ‘Point Bre’ app in his mobile phone through a link that he sent. He was given a customer ID and password, after which he started buying ‘shares’ by transferring money to the bank accounts provided by a ‘customer manager’. In this way, he ended up transferring a total of ₹1.45 crore.

Thereafter, his ‘virtual trading account’ reflected a balance of ₹8 crore, but when he tried to withdraw it, he could not do so. When he contacted the customer service manager and the group admin, they refused to refund the amount he had invested citing various reasons.

Few days later, he found that the WhatsApp group was closed and realised that he had been cheated. He then approached the West Cyber police station and filed a complaint.