Ahmedabad senior citizen duped of ₹35 lakh in elaborate online investment scam

A 77-year-old retired businessman from Bodakdev was allegedly cheated of ₹35.75 lakh by cyber fraudsters posing as representatives of ICICI Securities, who lured him with promises of high returns through a fake online investment platform.

The case has been registered with the Cyber Crime Police Station, Ahmedabad. Shyamsunder Malpani, a resident of Bodakdev, received a WhatsApp message on July 18, 2025 from an unknown number introducing itself as 'ICICI Securities Group' and inviting him to invest in the stock market.

It contained a fraudulent form link, allegedly hosted on Jotform.com, where Malpani was asked to submit his Aadhaar and bank details.

Soon after, a woman identifying herself as Nirali Sangi added Malpani to a WhatsApp group named 'CS ICICI Securities Group', where members regularly posted fake profit screenshots and investment tips, to create an impression of authenticity.

After gaining his trust, the accused shared a fake website link, resembling the genuine ICICI Securities portal. Malpani created a user ID and password as instructed and was later provided with several bank account numbers to deposit investment amounts.

Over the next few weeks, between July 21 and August 28, 2025, Malpani transferred ₹29.75 lakh across multiple accounts as instructed by Nirali. Another contact, identified as Tanushree, persuaded him to invest an additional ₹6 lakh through a fake trading application named 'Fivemax', available on the Google Play Store.

Over 20 deposits made through his HDFC Bank (Vejalpur branch) account. Initially, the accused returned small sums of ₹3.34 lakh in three transactions to appear genuine. However, subsequent requests for withdrawal or profit payments went unanswered.

When the returns stopped and the accused became unresponsive, Malpani realised he had been conned. He then contacted the Cyber Crime Helpline (1930) and registered a formal complaint, later approaching the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Police Station in person.

The police have booked unknown persons under relevant sections of the BNS of cheating, criminal conspiracy and the Information Technology Act.

Investigators suspect that the gang, operating through multiple WhatsApp numbers and fake financial portals, may have targeted several elderly investors across Gujarat using similar fraudulent investment schemes.

The police have initiated efforts to trace the bank accounts and digital wallets linked to the accused and have requested assistance from cyber forensic experts and banking authorities to track the money trail.