Share-trading fraud: Crooks dupe sr citizen of 16 lakh
Times of India | 19 January 2026
Kolkata: A senior citizen was allegedly cheated of nearly Rs 16 lakh by fraudsters posing as representatives of reputed share trading platforms after luring him through social media advertisements, police said on Saturday.
The victim, a resident of the Belghoria Expressway area in North 24 Parganas, lodged a complaint at Airport Police Station on Friday. According to the complaint, the senior citizen clicked on a trading-related post while scrolling through Facebook on Nov 20, 2025. Shortly after, he was added to a WhatsApp group where the members identified themselves as investment advisors linked to a well-known stock trading platform.
"The accused gained the victim's confidence by sharing fabricated documents, trading dashboards and alleged SEBI registration details," said a senior officer. "They persuaded him to install a trading application which was falsely projected as an official platform."
Police said the victim initially transferred Rs 12.2 lakh in four instalments to multiple bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. He was later added to another WhatsApp group claiming to represent a different stock holding company, where he transferred an additional Rs 3.8 lakh from a private bank account.
The fraud came to light when the victim attempted to withdraw his alleged profits and found his access blocked. "The victim later realised that the apps, documents and even the SEBI credentials were forged," the officer said. "The accused then demanded more money as service charges and for an IPO the victim never applied for."