Stock investment frauds using celebrity names on the rise in Mumbai

MUMBAI: As the stock market booms, market-related frauds are not far behind. The Mumbai police have registered 355 investment-related frauds in May this year, arrested 91 people and are investigating 76 cases. According to the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), people across the country lost ₹7,061.51 crore to cyber frauds in just four months this year, with the lion’s share of ₹1,420.48 crore going to scamsters luring people to invest in the stock market.
Police officials said most of the rackets originated in Cambodia, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Dubai and Laos. The web applications used in these crimes are written in Mandarin, thus raising the high possibility of a Chinese link to the major cyber crimes affecting India.
Most of the scams are “pig-butchering” ones, where the accused pose as stock market experts and promise guaranteed returns. These scamsters approach victims mostly via social media or WhatsApp and Telegram messages. They pay the social media platforms higher rates to ensure that their advertisements appear prominently.
“A 54-year-old real estate consultant from Vile Parle was cheated of ₹2.25 lakh by someone using the name of Pune-based “finfluencer” Rachna Ranade,” said a police officer. “The victim saw some deep fake videos of Ranade on a social media platform. When he clicked on the link, he was connected to some WhatsApp and Telegram channels on which members had posted messages, announcing the “huge” profits they had earned by investing in the stocks recommended by experts.”
Believing that Ranade was giving the tips, the complainant downloaded the app and invested ₹2.25 lakh. “Soon after, the app started showing ₹68 lakh credited to his account,” said the police officer. “However, when he tried to withdraw some of it, he could not.” A 71-year-old-man from Sion lost ₹1.1 crore in a similar scam.
Ritesh Bhatia, a cyber security expert, said that frauds dropped names like Ranade, P R Sundar, Varun Malhotra, journalist and economist Udayan Mukherjee, Zee Business managing editor and stock expert Anil Singhvi and value investor and YouTuber Pranjal Kamra. “People are directed to WhatsApp groups or Telegram channels which share false narratives of huge profits and fabricated profit screenshots,” he said.
A report by cyber security firm CloudSEK said there was a huge surge in fraudulent ads on social media platforms, and the firm had identified around 29,000. There are over 81,000 fake investment groups on WhatsApp and the same number of fake handles on X masquerading as legitimate financial entities.
As a significant amount of time is lost in realising that one has been duped, the Golden Hour—an hour after loss of money—is lost in such cases and the money has already been transferred to other bank accounts and to the group handlers across borders via either crypto currency or USDT.
“When I learnt about the fraud happening in my name, I approached the Colaba police,” said Udayan Mukherjee. “I am not present on any social media and therefore I asked my friends to warn people.” Ranade has posted on X and Instagram, warning people about the fraudulent ads using her name and photo. Zee Business managing editor Anil Singhvi said he had lodged a complaint with the cyber police but nothing much happened and people were still being cheated.
Ajay Kejriwal, CEO of Choice Equity Broking, said protecting oneself from such fake stock market apps required a combination of vigilance, scepticism and proactive research. “Download apps only from trusted app stores like Google Play or Apple App Store,” he said. “Ensure that the app uses SSL encryption (‘Https’ in the URL). Also, never transfer funds to anyone’s personal bank account. If an app or service promises unusually high returns with little or no risk, it’s likely a scam.”
Kejriwal said that investors should also check the regulatory registrations or licenses of the firms with financial regulatory bodies such as the SEBI, NSE, BSE, MCX, NCDEX, CDSL, NSDL and RBI on their websites. “Look at the app’s reviews in the app store,” he said. “Be wary of apps with few reviews, overly positive feedback or generic comments. Be cautious of unsolicited investment offers, especially those that come through email, sms or social media.”
Datta Nalawade, deputy commissioner of police, Crime Branch, advised people not to click on suspicious links or download unauthorised apps from social media platforms. “Think twice before investing through such applications which are a copy of the original with some minute changes,” he said. Nalawade added that the Mumbai cyber police had frozen around ₹100 crore belonging to cyber fraud victims this year in various bank accounts.
Whom to Contact
In case of any cyber-related offence, victims are advised to lodge complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) or call the cyber-crime helpline, 1930.