According to the complaint, in the last week of April this year, the Army veteran clicked on a fraudulent Instagram link, following which he was added to a Whatsapp group (Representative image)A 49-year-old Army veteran lost Rs 64 lakh in a share trading fraud, days after he was added to a Whatsapp group where a ‘professor’ guided him regularly on market conditions and high potential stocks and a ‘coordinator’ kept a track of his progress.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEOAn FIR was registered at cyber crime police station of Pune by the Army veteran.According to the complaint, in the last week of April this year, the Army veteran clicked on a fraudulent Instagram link, following which he was added to a Whatsapp group.The coordinator of the group, a woman, asked him to download a phone based application. He was told that the man in the group was a professor and an expert of share markets. He was told that the group will get two tips on IPO trading from the ‘professor’ and a particular target was set for each member of the group. The complainant was given details of fraudulent bank accounts to send money to. Each of his transfers was getting reflected on the fraudulent application along with corresponding high gains.Over 20 days in May, the complainant was manipulated into making 16 transfers totalling Rs 64 lakh to mule accounts registered in Karol Bagh in New Delhi, Sadar Bazar in Solapur, Rangareddy in Telangana, South Dinajpur in West Bengal, East Singhbhum in Jharkhand and Katni in Madhya Pradesh among others.The corresponding gain on the fraudulent app displayed Rs 7.7 crore. When he tried to withdraw the gains, he was told that he would have to pay 10 per cent of the sum. As the ‘professor’ and ‘coordinator’ continued to deny him the money, he realised that he had been swindled and approached the police.The Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad police have witnessed a worrying surge in online share trading fraud cases over the past two years. Fraudsters employ a variety of baits, including trading tips, virtual lectures, mobile applications, and enticing promises of exorbitant returns. Officials have also expressed concerns over citizens continuing to fall prey to these scams in spite of several advistories, sensitization campaigns and wide media coverage in this regard.Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:pune cyber crime