A 61-year-old Noida resident has reportedly lost more than Rs 1 crore in a stock trading scam operated through WhatsApp, where one of the fraudsters posed as a “professor” offering stock market advice.
According to The Times of India, the victim, Sital Kumar of Sector 113, was contacted in April 2023 by three individuals claiming to be financial advisors from E-Trades India Company Private Limited, which they said was a subsidiary of global investment bank Morgan Stanley. The suspects allegedly lured Kumar into investing large sums over three months with promises of unusually high returns.
One of the accused, identifying himself as Sanjay Sharma, held daily online sessions in a WhatsApp group, sharing tips on stock trading, IPOs, and after-hours markets. Two others—Alyssa and Priyanka Singh—claimed to be his assistants and allegedly helped Kumar open a high net-worth individual (HNI) account, later convincing him to upgrade to an ultra-HNI account for better trading opportunities.