Kolkata: A 45-year-old woman fell victim to a major cyber fraud amounting to Rs 1.2 crore after being lured into fake investment schemes by fraudsters posing as relationship managers of reputed wealth management firms.The complainant, a resident of Canal Circular Road under the Phoolbagan Police Station, filed a complaint detailing the cyber fraud and cheating through fraudulent trading platforms.According to the complaint, the trouble began on Sept 22 when the victim was added to a WhatsApp group after clicking on a shared link. The group, which had around 85 active members, frequently shared messages about daily trading activities and impressive profit margins. This created a false sense of authenticity, convincing her that the operation was legitimate.Persons claiming to be relationship managers contacted the victim over phone calls and messaging applications. She was instructed to register on a specific trading link. Initially, she invested Rs 3 lakh and were shown reasonable returns on her dashboard. She even reportedly successfully withdrew Rs 1 lakh into her bank account.However, the fraudsters soon manipulated the trading system by deliberately allotting shares worth significantly more than what she had applied for. This created a negative balance in her account, and the perpetrators pressured her to deposit additional funds to clear the deficit. When she attempted to withdraw her money, she was demanded to pay an immediate 10% brokerage fee via a suspicious email.Realizing something was wrong, the victim consulted a cyber-security expert, who confirmed that the website was fraudulent and impersonating a genuine wealth management entity. She tried contacting the 85 members in the WhatsApp group, but no one could be reached by phone or messaging apps. The fraudsters repeatedly provided different bank account details for each fund transfer.A second similar incident occurred when another individual claiming to be a relationship manager added her to a different WhatsApp group on Oct 20. She was convinced to transfer another Rs 5 lakh through another fraudulent website link. In total, the fraudsters used fake WhatsApp groups under the guise of prominent investment brands to convince the victim to invest Rs 1.2 crore under the promise of high returns, secure trading, and fixed market allotments.Investigations into the bank account trails and phone numbers used by the fraudsters remain underway.
