The investment scams don’t seem to be ebbing, the muted efforts of powers that be does not seem to be making any great dent in the digital ecosystem of apps based scams and digital arrests. The backend funneling of money also remains the same. There are lots which have to be done at the generic level and quite a few depending on each genre of cyber crime, which happens to be a part of this ecosystem. And the current case in question is from Chandigarh, where the cyber police cracked a big case.
Misled into believing is the normal refrain, how long will it continue, no one knows. In the other words they can be called the lame ducks waiting to get fleeced. Chandigarh Police’s cyber cell arrested and accused in a share market fraud scam for having duped a retired professional of Rs. 3.66 crores, through a fake online trading platform. Interestingly, the accused who has been identified as Chander Mohan Singh,32, was arrested while in judicial custody at Tihar Jail No,3, New Delhi.
The Cybercrime police stated that the victim was misled into investing into a fraudulent stock market app, through a WhatsApp group. Can Apps not be controlled? Is there no authentication / verification / validation by a government or a quasi-government regulatory agency with sufficient technical prowess. Do we need a joined tech team of the government and the platform? Can whitelisting of Apps not be done? Why can’t every single finance related app not have an icon / tag / tick to prove that it has got its approval from the government, to be in the market.
The app industry, telecommunication companies and the banks have left the common man in the lurch and there is no one to control them. The fraudulent stock market app claimed to be operating under professionals from the reputed SMC Global Securities Limited. Thakur, the victim joined the WhatsApp group titled ‘P15 Stock Market Exchange Club’ in Dec 2023, where members provided enticing tips posing as market analysts and convinced him to open an “institutional account,” through a fake app named SMCLE. Between Feb 16 to March 25, 2024 Thakur allegedly transferred Rs.3.66 crore, in the firm belief that he was investing in “upper circuit stocks.” He could access or withdraw funds from the institutional account managed entirely by the accused. Does the regulator have no role to play?
IS IT A FREE FOR ALL FOR FRAUDULENT APPS OF EVERY TYPE TO SWINDLE YOUR MONEY?
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.