Delhi Man Loses Rs. 1 Crore, Falls Prey to WhatsApp Share Market Scam

A Delhi man lost Rs. 1 crore after falling victim to a sophisticated WhatsApp-based share market scam. The fraudsters posed as market experts and lured the victim with promises of high returns. They successfully convinced the man to transfer this large sum of money into various accounts by promising him high returns. The scammers used tactics like creating a false sense of legitimacy with fake documents and fraudulent schemes to set the trap.

Initially, the victim was contacted by an unknown individual on WhatsApp who offered him a stock market investment scheme and convinced him to invest to get high-value returns against his investment. He was later added to a WhatsApp group as part of the process, as reported by TOI.

In terms of showing its credibility, the group scammers provided a few profitable investment tips to the participants which later on encouraged them to put in a hefty amount of money in their scheme.

This incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by investment scams propagated through social media platforms. And, to safeguard against such scams

Common Tactics Used by Scammers in WhatsApp Share Market Scams

The common tactics used by scammers in WhatsApp share market  scams include 

• Creation of Fake Investment Groups: Here scammers create fake WhatsApp groups that appear to offer high-quality investment portfolios and daily stock recommendations.
• Impersonate as Finance Experts: They impersonate themselves as finance experts or investment professionals, by using the identities of renowned individuals to look credible.
• Stock Tips and Trading Courses: Scammers initially provide stock tips for free to build confidence among the group members, and manage to manipulate investors to invest more by creating a sense of urgency of missing out on profit.
• Pump and Dump Schemes: Many of the current social media scams operate on pump and dump schemes where scammers convince people to buy certain stocks. By artificially inflating the stock price through circular trading, they sell their shares at a significant profit, causing the stock price to plummet.

Be Cautious

Investors who are investing their hard-earned money into the market shares can protect themselves from falling victim to WhatsApp share market scams by being aware of these tactics and red flags. Here, it is very crucial to exercise caution, verify the legitimacy of investment opportunities, and avoid sharing personal or financial information with unknown entities on social media platforms like WhatsApp.