शेयर टिप्स और ट्रेडिंग ऐप वाला व्हाट्सऐप ग्रुप: असली या धोखा?

Stock-tip groups and fake broker apps that block withdrawals

A Facebook ad or a WhatsApp group invite leads you to a fake broker's trading app that shows huge profits. Some ads use AI-made videos of people you recognise, and large withdrawals are blocked until you pay more.

⚙️ How it works

PIB Fact Check debunked ads on 16 and 20 September 2026 carrying deepfake videos of the Finance Minister and the External Affairs Minister, offering figures like Rs 90,000 a day on an investment of Rs 22,000. Kerala Police warned on 22 September 2026 that the same ads use AI videos of well-known stock-market figures and company heads. You are added to a group where everyone else is part of the scam, then sent a link to an app that copies a real broker's. Small withdrawals are allowed early to win your trust, 'heavily discounted' shares pull in bigger deposits, and then withdrawals need 'processing charges', 'tax' or 'compliance' payments - which is the actual theft. In a case registered by Cyberabad cyber-crime police in November 2026, a 68-year-old retired engineer clicked a Facebook trading ad, joined a WhatsApp group using a brokerage's name, and was told to install the 'Eqr HNI' app from a link rather than the Play Store and to chat on Signal. He paid in Rs 1 lakh, withdrew Rs 72,000, and went on to send about Rs 1.29 crore while the app showed about Rs 15.22 crore. On 29 October 2026 he was told to pay a 15% commission of Rs 2.06 crore before withdrawing, and the operators refused to deduct it from his balance. Two more cases were registered in November 2026. A Kochi man working in Dubai lost Rs 2.11 crore to a forex and stock 'trading' scheme run through a Telegram group and a fake website; Ernakulam Rural cyber police registered the case. In Hyderabad a software employee who came in through Facebook lost Rs 33.62 lakh: the bogus app showed him over Rs 1.44 crore in profit and then demanded another Rs 28.83 lakh before he could withdraw it.

🚩 Red flags

• A video of a minister, a famous investor or a broking-firm chief promising a fixed daily or monthly profit - these are AI fakes
• Guaranteed or 'assured' returns, 'block trades', 'IPO quota' or shares offered at a heavy discount
• A small withdrawal that works early on, followed by pressure to deposit much more
• A Telegram group gives you a login for a trading website, or an app shows profits many times what you paid in
• An app installed from a link in the group instead of the Play Store, or being moved to Signal to chat
• A withdrawal that needs a fee, tax or commission paid first, and a refusal to deduct it from your balance

✅ What to do

• No minister, regulator or fund manager advertises an investment scheme promising daily profits - if the video says so, it is fake.
• Trade only through a SEBI-registered broker's own app; check the registration on sebi.gov.in.
• Leave the group and block the admin. Never install a trading app from a chat link or an ad.
• If the app asks for more money before you can withdraw, stop paying at once - the profits on screen are not real and the money will not come back by paying more.
• Report on cybercrime.gov.in or 1930 with screenshots of the group, the ad and the payment details.
• Warn relatives - these ads target retirees and salaried savers most.

Source: onmanorama.com