Chemist Loses Rs 1.01 Crore in Social Media Investment Scam
Cyber Crime
Rajkot: A chemist in Gondal district fell prey to a high-stakes cyber fraud, losing Rs 1.01 crore after being lured by a fraudulent investment scheme over social media.
The businessman now awaits justice as the case unfolds in cybercrime courts.
According to the complaint filed at the Cybercrime Police Station in Rajkot, 59-year-old Chandrakant Sakhiya was active on WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. He encountered a reel promoting stock market investments, which led him to a WhatsApp group where seemingly genuine IPO discussions were underway. One “Kritika Joshi,” posing as a guide, sent him a link to an investment platform and urged him to upload sensitive documents like his Aadhaar and PAN cards.
Between June 26 and July 17, Sakhiya transferred funds across eight transactions, totaling ₹1.01 crore. When Joshi later tried to coax him into further investments tied to an agriculture project in Kutch, Sakhiya grew suspicious. He was never able to recover his principal and promptly lodged a complaint via the 1930 helpline, reports Times of India.
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