Stock market fraud cases on the rise in Bengaluru as victims lose Rs 200 cr in 4 months: Report

Following the increase in stock market fraud cases, the cyber police have formed a special team to probe these cases

In the past 4 months, the cases of fraudulent investment schemes have jumped in Bengaluru, resulting in a loss of Rs 197 crore, a new report has revealed.

The cyber crime police of India’s tech hub have registered 735 cases with no recovery in the reported period, while bank accounts have been frozen in 10 percent of the cases, a report by the New Indian Express said.

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Following the increase in stock market fraud cases, the cyber police have formed a special team to probe these cases, the report said. An average of 8 cases per day were registered in February alone, the report noted, while adding that Rs 88 crore was lost in 237 cases.

Recent years have seen more people choosing to invest in stocks, mutual funds and other financial instruments to earn more wealth.

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Most of the victims are about the age of 30 and are aware of the market system, additional joint commissioner of police (crime) Chandragupta was quoted as saying in the report. He also added that people are losing money because of ‘greed’.

In March, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) had cautioned investors against entities trying to defraud investors by falsely claiming to be associated with reputed financial institutions and showing fake certificates.

The fake certificates will be purportedly issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the exchanges, according to a press release from the exchange dated March 11.

In a similar advisory in February, the market regulator had warned investors of people posing as employees or affiliates of Sebi-registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and promising trading opportunities to people.

The regulator clarified that the FPI investment route is unavailable to resident Indians with limited exceptions.