74-Year-Old Bengaluru Man Loses Rs 1.33 Crore In Fake IPO Scam

A 74-year-old man from Bengaluru lost Rs 1.33 crore to a fraudster posing as a representative of a wealth management company.

The man, identified as Shivakumar, was browsing online when he came across the website 'Anand Rathi Wealth Limited'. He dialled the number displayed on the site through WhatsApp and spoke to a man identifying himself as Ankith Mahesh. The fraudster reportedly shared information about high-profit schemes and instructed the complainant to download an application through the link  -  [https://anewadmini.top](https://anewadmini.top).

Believing the claims of lucrative returns from stock market IPO investments, Shivakumar transferred Rs 1,15,50,000 from his Axis Bank account. Additionally, he transferred Rs 18,00,000 from the relative, Vinay Kumar's Canara Bank account. In total, he sent Rs 1,33,50,000 to the accused.

Shivakumar, on September 21, filed a complaint saying that Mahesh neither returned the invested money nor provided the promised profits, leading him to realise that he had been defrauded. 

A case was filed with the National Cybercrime cell and an investigation is underway, officials said.