Two Kolkata residents, including a 76-year-old man from Tollygunge, have allegedly lost more than Rs 55 lakh in separate cyber-fraud cases involving a fake stock-trading application and a fraudulent house-rental transaction, police said in cases registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
In the first case, a 48-year-old city resident was drawn into an online investment scheme after responding to an advertisement on Instagram. The victim was added to a WhatsApp group where fraudsters, using the names Divya Iyer and N Sivaraman, allegedly posed as representatives offering access to “institutional stock” trading and returns of up to 750%.
The suspects reportedly directed the victim to download a fake trading application called “EqrHNI” and submit KYC documents. According to the complaint, the fraudsters initially credited Rs 69,871 to the victim’s bank account as a small profit withdrawal. The payment was allegedly used to build confidence before the victim was persuaded to participate in tiered “negotiated trades” and pre-allotted initial public offering schemes.
Between September and October, the victim transferred a total of Rs 43,31,129 to multiple designated bank accounts, the report said. Suspicion arose after the application showed IPO liabilities of Rs 1.1 crore and demanded another Rs 48 lakh. The victim then contacted the genuine financial firm and learnt that both the application and the identities being used by the suspects were fraudulent. A police complaint was subsequently filed.
The second incident involved a 76-year-old Tollygunge resident who had listed a residential property for rent online. Two men identifying themselves as RS Shekhawat and Asish Kr. Pahari allegedly contacted him while claiming to be Army personnel interested in renting the property.
The men reportedly asked the elderly resident to share his UPI details on the pretext of transferring an advance security deposit. Instead, the details were allegedly used to initiate a series of unauthorised debit transactions. About Rs 11,85,200 was transferred from the victim’s account into three separate private bank accounts between October 17 and 18.
The cases underline how online fraud increasingly combines social engineering with counterfeit digital interfaces. In the investment case, an initial account credit and a fabricated trading dashboard allegedly created the appearance of legitimate financial activity. In the rental case, a familiar transaction—a prospective tenant paying an advance—was allegedly used to obtain access to the victim’s payment system.
Cybercrime police have registered cases of cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy under the BNS in both matters. Investigators are examining the financial trail through the recipient accounts and are working to identify and apprehend those responsible. The police investigations remain ongoing.
