50-year-old man from Bengaluru loses Rs 5.95 crore to online investment scam

p>Bengaluru: A 50-year-old man from northwest Bengaluru lost a whopping Rs 5.95 crore in an elaborate fake online investment scam, officials said on Monday. .Police said the victim was introduced to "PU Prime" through some of his friends who informed him about online trading opportunities on the platform. .Since he was not well-versed in online trading and investments, he began seeking professional guidance online and came across a person named Shilpa Shivakumar through Google and Facebook. .After discussing trading activities, the two agreed on a profit-sharing arrangement for which she would guide him. She then made him register on a fraudulent platform by telling him it was for Indian traders. .SEBI response exposes investment scam after Bengaluru man loses Rs 60 lakh.The victim told the police he began trading on that platform, and the dashboard showed “substantial profits”. Since he could withdraw some amount initially, he grew more confident. .To verify the authenticity of the platform, without informing the suspects, he opened another account on the same platform, and since it also showed profits, he believed it was genuine. He did not realise that the fraudulent platform was manipulated to show fake profits, police said. .After continued persuasion by the suspects, the victim invested Rs 5.95 crore from his and his wife’s accounts. .“The accused persons continuously persuaded me to increase my investments by highlighting the substantial profits reflected in my trading account, which ultimately showed profits amounting to approximately Rs 50 crore,” the victim was quoted as saying in the FIR. .Realising that he was duped, he approached the cyber crime police on May 28 and registered a case.

An investigation is ongoing.