Ahmedabad techie duped of ₹17 lakh in ‘5 Paisa’ stock market WhatsApp scam

Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Police have registered a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy after a 36-year-old software professional alleged that he was duped of nearly ₹17 lakh through a fake stock market investment scheme operated via WhatsApp groups and lookalike trading websites.

The complainant, Arpan Soni, a resident of Gota and an employee of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Gandhinagar, stated that he was lured into the fraud between May 19 and October 1, 2025, by two women identified as Rashi Patel and Neha Yadav, along with other unidentified persons.

As per the complaint, Soni came in contact with Rashi Patel through a matrimonial website in May. After shifting their conversation to WhatsApp, Patel allegedly enquired about his knowledge of stock market investments and persuaded him to join a WhatsApp group titled ‘Smart Moves Only’. The group was purportedly administered by Neha Yadav, who claimed to be managing an 'OTC trading account'.

Police said the accused directed the complainant to register on websites such as 'stocks.5p-trade.top' and 'stocks.bionm-pro.top', which displayed a logo resembling that of the well-known brokerage firm 5Paisa, thereby creating an impression of legitimacy. Using an invitation code provided by the group administrator, the complainant opened an account and made an initial investment of ₹10,000, which appeared to generate high returns on the dashboard.

Encouraged by purported gains of 40–50 per cent shown on the platform, Soni gradually transferred money from his own bank accounts as well as a joint account held with his mother to multiple bank accounts shared through WhatsApp. In total, he transferred ₹16.99 lakh in several transactions between May and June, the FIR stated.

When Soni attempted to withdraw the displayed profits, the accused allegedly demanded an additional 20 per cent 'service fee', after which he became suspicious. Realising that he had been cheated, he contacted the cyber crime helpline (1930) on October 1 and later approached the Cyber Crime Police Station in Ahmedabad to lodge a formal complaint.

The police have registered an FIR for offences including cheating, criminal breach of trust and conspiracy under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. Investigators are examining the bank accounts, mobile numbers, WhatsApp groups and fake trading websites used in the fraud, and are working to trace the accused and identify other victims of the racket.