Mumbai Retiree Duped of ₹9.94 Crore in Fake Trading App Scam

A shocking cyber fraud case has surfaced in Mumbai’s Mulund area, where a 65-year-old retired professional was cheated of nearly ₹9.94 crore by scammers posing as officials of a reputed brokerage firm.

According to the East Region Cyber Police, the fraudsters tricked the victim into investing through a fake trading app named “AR Trade Mobi”, which they falsely claimed was linked to Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers Ltd. An FIR has been registered against ten unidentified persons under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

The complainant, a retired head of administration and industrial relations who now works as a legal consultant, said he was first contacted in June 2025 via WhatsApp by a woman identifying herself as Suman Gupta, an “admin” from Anand Rathi. She offered him investment opportunities through the “AR Trade Mobi” app and collected his personal details under the guise of KYC verification.

He was later added to a WhatsApp group named “Anand Rathi VIP 12”, where several people pretended to be financial experts, sharing fake market tips and IPO updates. Believing the app’s profit displays to be genuine, the victim began investing large amounts of money.

Over five months, from June to November 2025, he transferred a total of ₹9.94 crore into multiple bank accounts, thinking he was investing in IPOs and mutual funds. When he tried to withdraw his returns, the transactions failed, and the fraudsters demanded additional payments, citing “tax” and “commission” issues.

Suspecting foul play, the victim visited Anand Rathi’s official office in Malad (East), where he was informed that no employee named Suman Gupta existed and that “AR Trade Mobi” was not affiliated with the company.

Realizing he had been scammed, he filed a complaint with the cyber police. Investigators believe the accused are part of a nationwide fraud network using fake WhatsApp groups and bogus trading apps to target investors.

Police have begun tracing the money trail and are working to identify the culprits behind the massive ₹9.94 crore scam.