Pune: An 82-year-old retired bank employee has lodged a complaint with the Khadak police on Tuesday alleging that online fraudsters cheated him of Rs 41.5 lakh in an online share-trading scam between Jan and Feb.Senior inspector Shashikant Chavan of Khadak police said the suspects had sent a fraudulent email to the victim which contained links to AI-generated videos.According to the police, the email had details of a ‘share investment scheme’ and videos showed how it was generating profits for investors.The videos allegedly featured well-known political personalities and businessmen investing in the scheme and encouraging people to do the same. Convinced by the videos, the victim contacted the number provided in the email.“The suspect then sent a link to a mobile application and asked the victim to download it for share-trading,” Chavan said.“The victim initially started trading by buying shares of lower value and invested amounts ranging from Rs 19,000 to Rs 40,000. Later, the suspect contacted him and persuaded him to invest in high-value shares,” police said.The suspect assured the victim of assistance in purchasing high-value shares. Trusting him, the victim agreed and the suspect shared details of five bank accounts. The victim subsequently transferred amounts ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh over a period of 15 to 20 days, eventually exhausting his savings, police added.“The application showed good returns. When the victim decided to sell the shares, the suspects demanded Rs 12 lakh to allow the transaction. The victim, however, found out that it was a fraud. He then approached the police,” the FIR stated.
