Winning Bizness Desk

Mumbai. Telegram, Instagram and WhatsApp are now being used to lure large-scale investment, which has put all agencies on toe. By creating social media groups on Telegram, Instagram, and WhatsApp, scamsters add people to it and offer high returns on their investments. In the recent past,such incidents have taken place with large numbers, and those people are caught in this trap very easily who tend to make huge money in less time. In January, a 32-year-old woman joined a Telegram channel where group members shared her daily earnings. A group admin used to give stock tips along with market stuff which motivated women to invest. Starting with a small investment of Rs 100, her portfolio grew rapidly to six figures. Awesome returns started showing up on the dashboard. Very soon, her investment suddenly reduced and all savings fell around Rs 25 lakh. When she wanted some cross confirmation, she was removed from the group. Apart from this woman, there were 200 other suspicious members in that group. Several other members are also suspected to have lost decent money in this trap as they fell prey to the scam. Later it came to know that many scams along these lines are being done through Telegram, Instagram and WhatsApp. Scammers attract people by claiming high returns. Delhi Police has arrested more than 100 such scammers in a year. However, such cases continue to cheat the gullible investors.

Fraudsters have technological resources

The viciously run scams include fake websites, dubious groups and fraudulent investment apps. Fraudsters have technological resources. They have groups of people who gather information from the dark web and use it against them. A senior policeman from Cyber Cell said, "Scammers use marketing tools to track those interested in the market." They are greedy for high returns in less time and give them free stock advice. Such thugs start creating difficulties for investors who want to withdraw their money. They cite technical issues that make it difficult for people to access their money. This group works on platforms where there is no regulation.

What experts say?

Investment experts say that investment in financial savings instruments like share market, mutual fund and insurance is never guaranteed. This kind of claim cannot be made either. Nor should he believe such claims. Consult a certified advisor registered with SEBI while investing in share market mutual funds. Do your own research. After that decide your investment.