Ahmedabad man loses ₹12 lakh in stock-trading scam after being added to fake WhatsApp investment group

A 50-year-old AMTS bus conductor from Amraiwadi has lodged a police complaint alleging that he was duped of ₹11.95 lakh by fraudsters operating a fake stock-trading scheme through a WhatsApp group posing as ‘Ventura Stock Investment Academy’.

As per the FIR filed at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Jayantilal Kodarbhai Patel was added on 22 April to a WhatsApp group titled 1816-Ventura Stock Investment Academy, allegedly administered by a woman identifying herself as Anahita Mehta. Three other numbers operated as co-admins while another number was displayed under the label Ventura Customer Service.

Fake trading app used to lure investors

Patel told the police that the group members shared a link to download an application named VTRADE, which appeared to resemble a legitimate stock-trading platform. After registering with his mobile number, he began receiving ‘buy-and-sell’ recommendations from the group.

To win his confidence, the accused allegedly transferred ₹3,000 to his bank account as ‘profit’. Believing the platform to be genuine, Patel began depositing money into bank accounts provided by the group admins.

Between May 16 and June 6, he transferred amounts ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹1.60 lakh across multiple accounts in IDFC First Bank, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank. The cumulative deposits amounted to ₹11.95 lakh.

Fraud exposed after withdrawal blocked

Patel stated that the VTRADE app displayed his deposits and purported trading profits. However, when he attempted to withdraw his funds, the app repeatedly declined the request. He was then informed that a further ₹1.65 lakh, later claimed to be ₹6.65 lakh, had to be paid as ‘tax’ before the withdrawal could be processed.

Growing suspicious, Patel contacted the national cybercrime helpline 1930 on June 6 and later approached the Cyber Crime Police Station to file an official complaint.

The FIR has been registered against unnamed individuals, acting jointly, created the fake WhatsApp investment group and deployed the fraudulent VTRADE application to cheat the complainant. Police have booked the accused for online breach of trust, cheating, and criminal conspiracy under relevant sections of the BNS and Information Technology Act.

Investigators said the mobile numbers of the purported administrators and recipients of the deposited amounts have been taken on record and will be traced during the probe. “All persons linked to the WhatsApp numbers, the VTRADE application and the beneficiary bank accounts will be identified through technical analysis,” a senior official said.