Ahmedabad woman duped of ₹2 lakh in online investment scam

A 42-year-old woman in Ahmedabad has lodged a police complaint alleging that she was cheated of ₹2 lakh in an elaborate online investment scam. A case has been registered at Satellite police station, and investigations are now underway.

The complainant, Rashmi Mahajan, a homemaker who lives on Ambli-Bopal Road, stated in her FIR that she came across an investment advertisement on Facebook on May 5, 2025, and initiated contact via the mobile number mentioned in the post. The interaction soon moved to WhatsApp, where she was asked to fill out a Google Form through a provided link.

A person identifying herself as Aaradhya Mishra later informed Rashmi that her investment application had been approved. On May 7, Rashmi was added to a WhatsApp group named SCPLC FINANCE FORUM 188 and was instructed to download an app titled SC-ELITE. Though it was not available on the Google Play Store, she managed to install it via a web browser.

Following further instructions through the app’s chat support, Rashmi transferred ₹50,000 on May 7 to a Union Bank of India account. Another ₹50,000 was reportedly transferred on May 8 to a second account, bringing her total investment to ₹1 lakh.

According to her statement, the app showed a profit of ₹25,993, which she successfully withdrew on May 20 to her ICICI Bank account. Encouraged by this, she proceeded to invest another ₹2 lakh on May 21, which was transferred via Google Pay to IDFC First Bank Account.

However, the next day, she was informed by Aaradhya Mishra that an additional ₹2.5 lakh needed to be invested in order to receive a share of an IPO. Sensing something suspicious, Rashmi refused to make the payment and began to suspect fraud.

Realising she had been conned, she promptly called the 1930 cybercrime helpline and lodged a complaint. The accused lured the victim into transferring a total of ₹2 lakh with promises of high returns. Despite initial small gains, no money was returned after the final transactions. The scam was carried out using WhatsApp chats, a fraudulent app, and multiple bank accounts.

The FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and criminal breach of trust, and the case is under investigation by Satellite police.