Surat: A 51-year-old doctor from Surat has filed a complaint with the city’s cybercrime police on Tuesday after being cheated of Rs 28.31 lakh by cyber fraudsters posing as representatives of a reputed investment firm.The doctor, who works at a cancer hospital in Surat, came across a share market investment advertisement on Facebook on Oct 22. After clicking on the advertisement, he was added to a WhatsApp group claiming to be operated by Anand Rathi Securities Ltd. The fraudsters gained the doctor’s trust by promising returns of 15–20% in share market investments and 200–300% returns in IPOs. They claimed he would receive bulk IPO shares at discounted rates, assuring him of high profits. The accused then persuaded him to open a trading account on a platform they provided and link it to his bank account. The doctor initially transferred Rs 2 lakh on Oct 27. Encouraged by the profits shown in the trading account, he continued making transfers. By Dec 8, he had transferred a total of Rs 28.93 lakh. On Dec 11, when he sought to withdraw the entire amount, they demanded Rs 14.30 lakh as short-term capital gains tax. When the victim offered to pay the tax through the Surat Income Tax department, the fraudsters refused, prompting him to realise that he had been cheated.
