How 6.30 am tutorials by ‘market guru’ cost IT professional Rs 4.43 crore in trading fraud

3 min readUpdated: Jun 7, 2026 07:40 PM IST

For each transaction the complainant was given an account number which were all mule accounts. (Image generated using AI)

A DAILY 6.30 am share trading tutorial from a “market guru”; regular updates on “high return” stocks – these were among the deceptive features of a fraudulent WhatsApp group and share trading application through which a 46-year-old IT professional was cheated to the tune of Rs 4.43 crore in a span of two weeks.

An FIR in the case was registered at Cyber crime police station of Pimpri Chinchwad police by the 46-year-old man, a resident of Pimple Saudagar.

A few weeks ago, the complainant was added to a WhatsApp group after clicking a social media post. According to police, the group appeared to function like a routine stock market advisory forum and had the name of a London-headquartered international banking major to gain trust of the victims.

Members were provided daily online tutorials at 6.30 am, investment tips, and recommendations on stocks from an administrator who identified herself as Maira and expert “market guru”.

The group administrators and some of the participants regularly shared screenshots of alleged profits.

Investigators said the complainant was persuaded to download a trading application by administrator Maira and create an account through links shared in the group.

The application displayed steadily rising profits and showed the value of his investments growing exponentially, prompting him to transfer large sums of money over multiple transactions.

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For each transaction the complainant was given an account number which were all mule accounts. After 34 transactions, amount totalling Rs 4.43 crore were sent to at least a dozen mule accounts located across India.

Corresponding gains on fraudulent app were Rs 26.64 crore. However, when he attempted to withdraw the purported returns, he was allegedly asked to make additional payments on various pretexts, following which he realised he had been duped and approached the police. Senior Inspector Ravikiran Nale is probing the case further.

Cybercrime investigators said such share-trading frauds have become one of the most common forms of online financial fraud in recent years, with fraudsters increasingly using WhatsApp and Telegram groups, fake trading applications, fabricated profit dashboards and the names of reputed financial institutions to lure victims.

Authorities have repeatedly advised investors to verify whether trading platforms and advisors are registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), avoid downloading investment applications from links shared on social media or messaging platforms, and remain wary of promises of unusually high or guaranteed returns. Citizens are also urged to immediately report suspected cyber frauds on the national cyber crime helpline 1930 or through the cybercrime reporting portal to improve the chances of freezing the transferred funds.

Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010.

Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune.

Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read More

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