Andhra professor is a victim of cyber fraud, about 2 crores in fake investment scam on WhatsApp
A retired professor in Andhra Pradesh lost about Rs 2 crore in the WhatsApp Investment Scam. Scammers approached him, implemented a valid financial firm and asked him to create an account on a clone website.
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In short
- The victim was added to the WhatsApp group
- The group admins offered him expert investment advice.
- He also assured him for investment, in which a fake website nuwama mimics funds.
In another case of cyber fraud, a retired professor in Andhra Pradesh lost about Rs 2 crore after joining the WhatsApp group. The victim was added to a group claiming that this investment would provide advice. However, over time, scammers managed to shut down all their money invested by promising high returns.
According to the Times of India report, Dr. in this case. M. Batamben Mounisamy, former director and Professor of Zipper, Pondicherry. On 18 June, the professor filed a complaint about the scam. In his report, he revealed that he was added to a WhatsApp group called ‘H -10 Nuwama Health Group’. The admins of the group promised to offer internal suggestions and expert guidance to invest in Nuwama Fund – known as Edelvis.
As the professor was already familiar with the company and made legitimate investments in the original Nuwama Fund, he believed that the group was actually associated with the firm. He decided to move forward.
Soon after, a woman introduced herself as a “Kangana”, which, claiming to represent Nuwama, contacted her through private chat. He directed the professor to register on the website named ‘Nuwama Fund’. However, the site was fraud, cleverly mimicking the branding of the real firm. Assuming that it is valid, the professor initially invested Rs 10,000 on April 19 and quickly got a return of Rs 13,000. This small profit further enhanced their confidence in the group.
The next five weeks were encouraged by this obvious advantage, the professor allegedly invested a total of Rs 1.9 crore, believing that he was a high -performing stock portfolio. By the end of May, the fake platform displayed an account of Rs 35 crore. When he tried to withdraw Rs 5 crore, the scammers demanded a processing fee. Initially, he asked for Rs 32 lakh, but later reduced the demand. Expecting at least the minimum part of his earnings, the professor transferred Rs 7.9 lakh.
Despite paying this, the withdrawal was blocked. Desperate for help, Professor was again associated with scammers and introduced to another person, it is believed that a senior officer Ashish Keheir is believed to have a senior officer. However, the demands continued, and no money was refunded. This was only when the professor realized that he was approached by the authorities.
This is not the first case of a person losing money for online scams. Thousands of people have lost millions and crores in this scam in the last few years. To be safe, internet users are warned not to fall for attractive advertisements on social media that promise profits from investments that look great.
Also, beware of WhatsApp groups. Scammers are inducting many users in these fraud groups to dodge them in investment games and later expel them out of their money. Remember that legitimate financial institutions rarely recommend investment through WhatsApp. So treat unwanted messages with caution.
Too good to be true? This is probably. Look out for red flag.
