Mumbai man loses Rs 1.42 crore in alleged fake online trading fraud

PTI, July 9, 2026, Mumbai : A 40-year-old man, deputy general manager of a private firm, was duped of Rs 1.42 crore by cyber fraudsters who lured him into investing in gold, oil and forex trading through a bogus online trading platform, police said on Wednesday.

The complainant, a resident of Chembur, told police that he came across the ‘Pu Prime’ trading platform after one of his acquaintances shared a trading link on WhatsApp, claiming that she was earning profits by using it.

The complainant created an account and started trading.

He was then asked to join a Telegram channel named ‘Pu Prime CS’, where the administrators provided bank account details for depositing investment amounts. The trading dashboard reflected his profits and losses in US dollars.

To gain his confidence, the fraudsters processed his withdrawal request of Rs 4.25 lakh in September last year, crediting the money to his bank account within 24 hours.

It encouraged the complainant to invest more, police said.

He was provided with new website links through the Telegram channel from time to time as the earlier ones would become inactive. During this period, his trading account displayed a profit of USD 4,56,259.

But on June 13, 2026, he found that the Pu Prime CS Telegram channel had been deleted and he could no longer access his trading account. It was then that he realised he had been cheated, police said.

He had invested over Rs 1.46 crore, of which only Rs 4.25 lakh was returned, resulting in a net loss of Rs 1.42 crore, the complainant said.

Police have registered a case and the investigation is underway, officials said.