Pune man loses ₹73.69 lakh to online share trading scam

India Oct 15, 2025

A Pune-based cyber security expert lost ₹73.69 lakh to an online share trading scam between August and September 2024.
It started when he joined a WhatsApp group promising big returns, downloaded a trading app, and made 55 transfers to different accounts—trusting the app's flashy (but fake) profits of over ₹2 crore.

Similar scams on rise in Maharashtra

Things got suspicious when he tried to withdraw his "earnings" and was suddenly told to pay a 10% tax.
Realizing he'd been tricked, he reported it to Pune Cyber Crime Police, who've registered a case.
Sadly, this isn't rare—Maharashtra has seen a spike in similar scams, with fraudsters using social media and fake apps to target people, despite repeated warnings from regulators.