A retired Defence Ministry officer residing in a Rajnagar Extension society has been duped of ₹1.11 crore by cyber fraudsters who lured him into a fake share trading scheme, promising hefty returns. The scam began in March when the officer was added to a WhatsApp group named ‘88-ASK Insider Exchange’ by unknown individuals claiming to be stock market experts.
Shortly after, the group’s administrators convinced him to download an app called ‘ASK MIN’ and register with a personal user ID. A woman named Priya Sharma, posing as a representative of the firm, reassured the officer of the app’s authenticity by sharing what appeared to be a SEBI registration certificate under the name ASK Investment Manager Limited, Mumbai—a legitimate-sounding firm.
Upon verifying the registration online, the officer found matching details and, reassured, proceeded to invest an initial sum of ₹5.05 lakh.
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₹1.11 Crore Transferred Based on Fake Profits Displayed
Over a span of more than two months (March 10 to May 20), the victim continued transferring funds, encouraged by the app’s interface, which showed rapidly growing profits. Believing the platform to be genuine, the retired officer transferred a total of ₹1.11 crore, hoping to earn sizable returns on his investments.
However, when he attempted to withdraw funds, the system repeatedly displayed error messages citing various technical and compliance-related reasons. Soon after, the fraudsters offered him a loan of ₹50 lakh, allegedly from the same company, which he would need to repay upfront to access his accumulated “profits” worth ₹12.40 crore, as shown in the app.
When the officer asked for the ₹50 lakh to be deducted from the visible profit amount, the scammers flatly refused, raising further suspicion.
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Forgery Uncovered; Police Register Case, Investigation Underway
Realizing he may have been defrauded, the retired officer personally visited the real ASK Investment Manager Limited office in Mumbai, where he confirmed that the company had no connection with the individuals or the app in question. Further examination revealed that the documents shared via WhatsApp bore forged signatures of the company’s director, Bharat Shah, and were completely fake.
Following this, the officer filed a complaint at the Cyber Crime police station on May 12, and a formal FIR has now been registered. According to ADCP Crime Piyush Singh, the investigation is ongoing, and efforts are being made to trace the fraudsters.
The case highlights the growing menace of online investment fraud, where scammers exploit the names of reputed financial firms and manipulate victims using fake apps and forged credentials.
