In a new case of online scam, a woman from Greater Noida lost more than Rs 51 lakh after using the harmless Amazon gift voucher shared in the WhatsApp group. The victim was reportedly added to the group by unknown persons, who obtained her trust by offering her a free Amazon voucher. However, in the process of trying to get more monetary benefits, scammers finally assured him to invest in the stock market for high return to get him out of his investment.

According to a case stated by PTI, the scam began when the victim, Meenu Rani was approached by a person named Hari Singh on social media. Hari introduced himself as a professional investment guide with a 15 -year experience in stock market investment. He then assured the victim to join a WhatsApp group, where members discussed investment opportunities and shared success stories. Believing that there is a good opportunity to learn about investment and earn good profits, the victim joined the WhatsApp group.

After a while, another member of the group, Aarti Singh, approached the victim. Aarti told her that Hari Singh had bought Amazon gift voucher of Rs 1,000 for each woman of the group to help them. To take advantage of the voucher, the victim was instructed to use it to log in to his Amazon account. Following the instructions, he entered his Amazon account and received a credit of Rs 1,000 for his balance. This further created his faith in the group and its administrator, Hari Singh.

After gaining his trust, Hari Singh assured the victim that he could earn his investment three to five times more within a month by trade in the stock market. To start investment, he was initially asked to deposit Rs 50,000, which he had transferred to a bank account provided by the fraudsters. To legalize the plan, the scammers also directed him to download a mobile app, which displayed his major investment and seems to show the growing profits.

Encouraged by his early good returns, the victim started investing more money to increase his profits. Repeatedly, she also borrowed funds from her husband, mother-in-law, and other relatives to fuel her investment. Over time, he transferred a total of Rs 51.50 lakh to fraud. However, the scam exposed when she approached an acquaintance for a loan and warned that she could join a fraud.

Realizing that she was cheated, the queen demanded the WhatsApp group to return her money. However, the scammers immediately cut all the contacts, leaving him in financial waste. He later lodged a complaint with Cybercrime Police Station in Greater Noida.

In particular, this is not the first case of a person losing money for fake investment scams. However, over time, scammers are using a new strategy to achieve people’s confidence. In this particular case, Scammers gave the victim a free Amazon voucher to win his trust and pushed him to invest money in his app, perhaps a fishing app designed to cheat people.

To be safe, remember that no investment can guarantee high returns. If you are added to any WhatsApp group by unknown individuals, immediately remove and block the group. Do not engage in any conversation. Most importantly, do not click on any link or share your sensitive data.