Over the following weeks, Kumar became the victim of a meticulously staged investment scam. Fraudsters, posing as representatives of a reputed wealth management firm, built an entire ecosystem to deceive him — complete with a fake website, WhatsApp groups, call centers, and SMS updates reflecting “account balances.” Convinced he was investing with a legitimate company, Kumar transferred money over several weeks — until it was too late.
His story is far from isolated. Across India, cybercriminals are using sophisticated tactics — often powered by artificial intelligence — to target thousands of aspiring investors. According to the Home Ministry’s cyber wing, more than 30,000 people have lost around Rs 1,500 crore in the past six months alone to investment-related frauds. Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Hyderabad accounted for nearly 65% of these cases.
A Growing Trap Amid India’s Investment Boom
With India’s stock markets booming, a growing number of people are looking to trade and invest directly, hoping for higher returns than traditional fixed deposits. This trend is reflected in the exponential growth of retail investors — Demat accounts touched 200 million in June 2025, doubling in just a few years.
Scammers have capitalized on this enthusiasm. They clone websites of real wealth management firms, create deepfake videos of popular financial influencers or CEOs, and operate fake trading platforms that appear legitimate. In some cases, they even use real SEBI registration numbers to make their operations look authentic — as chef Kumar discovered.
The scammers who reached out to him claimed to represent Karan Bhagat, the founder of 360 ONE WAM (formerly IIFL Wealth and Asset Management) — one of India’s most trusted financial advisory firms. The fake website carried the company’s branding and registration details. The real 360 ONE WAM had already issued public warnings about such impersonation attempts.
“Everything Is on Sale on the Internet”
Cybersecurity experts say that fraudsters operate through complex networks of “mule accounts” — fake bank accounts used to move and launder money rapidly.
“From SEBI registration numbers to personal data to high-limit current accounts, everything is on sale on the internet,” says Shubham Tripathi, a cybersecurity engineer with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) in Noida.
Tripathi helped police trace Rs 19 lakh of the Rs 38 lakh stolen from Kumar. However, recovering the rest will be an uphill battle. Once the funds are split into hundreds of small transactions across jurisdictions, the trail goes cold.
“Even if investigators manage to freeze an early account, the leftover amount is negligible. The masterminds remain safely out of reach,” says Gautam Mengle, AVP and security strategist at CyberFrat, a Mumbai-based cybersecurity firm.
Slow Investigations, Lasting Damage
While Kumar’s partial recovery offers a glimmer of hope, the process has been painfully slow. He first approached the Delhi Police on July 15, but an FIR was only filed on August 21 — more than a month later. It then took nearly another month to block the fake website that had duped him.
For nearly three months after law enforcement was informed, the fraudulent website remained active, continuing to lure other unsuspecting investors. “The delay in action allowed scammers to keep operating freely,” Kumar said. He has now filed a case in a Delhi Dwarka court to reclaim his funds.
The New Face of Investment Scams
Unlike traditional phishing or “digital arrest” frauds that rely on panic and fear, these scams are slow-burn psychological operations. Scammers build trust over weeks — sharing market insights, returns reports, and professional-looking dashboards. Victims are made to believe they are engaging with genuine financial experts.
In recent months, an Indore-based doctor lost Rs 3.5 crore, a Hyderabad software engineer lost Rs 1 crore, and a Noida engineer lost Rs 42 lakh — all to fake investment platforms mimicking real firms, according to The Times of India (Nov 1 report).
The Way Forward
Experts say awareness and skepticism are the first lines of defense. Investors should verify websites through official SEBI listings, check email domains carefully, and avoid clicking on investment offers shared via social media or WhatsApp.
Authorities, meanwhile, must streamline cybercrime reporting and coordinate faster with banks and telecom operators to freeze suspicious transactions.
For victims like Sumit Kumar, the experience has been emotionally and financially devastating. “I thought I was investing for my daughter’s future,” he says. “Instead, I lost almost everything I had saved for her.”
As India’s financial landscape becomes increasingly digital, stories like Kumar’s highlight a critical truth: the next generation of scams won’t just steal passwords — they’ll steal trust itself.
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Cybercrime
