Two held in ₹93 lakh share market scam after Faridabad man duped through WhatsApp ‘investment tips’

In a major breakthrough in a high-value cyber fraud case, Faridabad police has arrested two men from Delhi for allegedly duping a local resident of over ₹93 lakh through a bogus share market investment scheme on WhatsApp.

The accused, identified as Ankit from Vaishali district in Bihar and Amit Kumar from Raghubeer Nagar in West Delhi, were remanded to judicial custody on Tuesday.

The arrests were made by the Cyber Central Police Station following a complaint by a resident of Sector 86’s Ozone Park Apartments, who claimed he was lured into investing nearly ₹93.51 lakh in a fake trading platform after being added to a WhatsApp group offering ‘investment tips.’

According to police, the complainant was first approached on July 1 last year and persuaded to open a demat account with a bogus platform named DAIWA SECURITIES AI Smart Demat — which promised access to pre-market trades and US stock investments.

Initially cautious, the victim deposited ₹10,000 and managed to withdraw ₹1,000, which bolstered his confidence in the scheme. Over the next few weeks, he poured in over ₹93 lakh before all communication abruptly stopped, triggering suspicion and a police complaint.

Faridabad police said Ankit, an e-rickshaw driver living near Rajouri Garden, had allowed his bank account to be used for the fraud. His associate, Amit, who works at a footwear shop, reportedly helped route the funds through multiple accounts. Investigators have so far traced ₹8 lakh of the stolen amount to Ankit’s account.

“Amit acted as a middleman, connecting Ankit’s account with others in the fraud network. The investigation is ongoing to track down the larger syndicate,” said a police spokesperson.

This is not the first such racket busted by the Faridabad cyber unit. In April, the same team arrested 11 women and one man from a fake call centre in Delhi’s Janakpuri, which had been duping people across states with phoney credit card services. That operation had netted at least ₹35 lakh from unsuspecting victims.

Authorities have reiterated warnings for citizens to remain vigilant, avoid financial transactions based on social media investment pitches, and verify the authenticity of any trading platform before investing.