L&T manager duped of ₹74 lakh in fake ICICI Securities online trading scam

A 52-year-old manager working with Larsen & Toubro Construction Ltd in Ahmedabad has allegedly been duped of over ₹74 lakh by cyber fraudsters who posed as investment advisors linked to ICICI Securities and lured him into a fake online trading scheme promising high returns.

According to Cyber Crime Police, Laxman Natarajan, a resident of Sabarmati and originally from Maharashtra, was added to a WhatsApp group named ‘ICICI Securities S05’ in December 2025 from an unknown number.

Police said the group allegedly shared stock market-related messages and investment tips. The complainant stated that several persons identifying themselves as ‘Ashwin Parekh’ and ‘Prachi Shrivastav’ interacted with him and persuaded him to invest through websites resembling ICICI Securities platforms.

The fraudsters allegedly sent links such as ‘iciciqio.com’ and ‘icici-qib.com’ and asked the complainant to register by submitting personal details, including Aadhaar card, PAN card, bank account details, mobile number and investment preferences.

The accused also allegedly shared forged documents carrying fake SEBI logos and fabricated certificates to gain the victim’s confidence. The complainant was allegedly assured returns ranging between 15 and 25 per cent through trading in shares.

Police said the victim initially invested ₹10,000 and was shown a small profit on the trading portal, which allegedly convinced him that the platform was genuine. Over the next one month, between December 18 and January 18 he transferred money through multiple transactions into different bank accounts provided by the accused.

In total, the complainant allegedly transferred ₹ 74.02 lakh into various accounts through 62 transactions.

When the victim later attempted to withdraw his investment and profits, the accused allegedly delayed the payments on various pretexts before completely stopping communication.

The complainant subsequently contacted the national cybercrime helpline 1930 and also lodged multiple complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal before approaching the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Police Station.

Police have registered a case of online cheating, criminal conspiracy and breach of trust against the unidentified accused and the holders of the bank accounts used in the transactions.

Investigators are now tracing the mobile numbers, bank accounts and digital trail linked to the alleged fraud network.