Mumbai police are investigating a major cyber fraud case in which a retired city resident was duped of Rs 1.47 crore after being lured into a bogus online trading scheme promoted through a deceptive social media advertisement.
The fraud came to light after the victim stumbled upon a Facebook advert that carried the photograph of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, giving it an appearance of legitimacy. The ad claimed investors could earn returns of up to Rs 60,000 from an initial deposit of only Rs 21,000, a promise that convinced the man to click through and share his contact information.
Shortly after, he received a WhatsApp call from a woman identifying herself as Meenakshi, allegedly an employee of UPSTOX Securities. Presenting herself as an investment adviser, she walked him through a series of “exclusive opportunities,” coaxing him to put money into platforms and schemes that authorities now say never existed.
The scammers pushed him to invest in fraudulent offerings such as “SBI Wealth Mindset,” “Savexa,” and a fake IPO titled Rubicon Research Ltd. Over several weeks, the man transferred funds in multiple installments that eventually totalled ₹1.47 crore.
To cement the illusion of success, the syndicate built a fabricated trading dashboard that displayed soaring profits. According to investigators, the victim believed his investments had grown to ₹6.02 crore — until he attempted to cash out. The fraudsters then demanded an additional ₹90 lakh as a “guarantee fee” before releasing the profits, finally prompting the victim to suspect foul play.
He approached the Central Cyber Police Station, where officers uncovered signs of a well-organised criminal network operating through shell companies, cloned trading websites, fake identities, and manipulated social media ads. The use of the Finance Minister’s image, police said, was a deliberate tactic to win trust.
