The oblivious retired banker didn’t know he was transferring money to a fake trading platform

Ahmedabad: A 73-year-old retired banker from the city has allegedly lost around Rs 91 lakh on an unregistered online trading platform, which he acquired after watching an advertisement on YouTube. The man lodged a complaint with the cyber crime police on Saturday after his repeated attempts to withdraw the money invested over six months and the promised “profits” on it failed.According to the complaint, the man had watched a YouTube advertisement on stock market investing, which featured prominent personalities from the finance and technology sectors. In November 2025, he clicked on one such advertisement and was directed to a page where he was asked to fill personal details and open an account on a trading platform.Soon, he was contacted by individuals claiming to be investment advisors and portfolio managers. WhatsAppReportedly convinced him to start investing through the platform. Allegedly assured of adequate returns, the complainant transferred small amounts through UPI transactions and was shown the profits on the platform.Over the next several months, the fraudsters allegedly convinced her to make large deposits through RTGS and bank transfers to multiple accounts in different banks. Police said the victim transferred money through multiple transactions ranging from a few thousand rupees to Rs 18.5 lakh at a time between November 2025 and April 2026.The complainant said the platform showed ‘profits’ and later showed a $25,372 credit to his trading account. When he tried to withdraw funds, he was reportedly told that his account had been frozen. He then started receiving emails and WhatsApp messages demanding additional payment of alleged “capital gains tax” and “processing charges” for release of funds. Believing the claims, the complainant said he transferred more money, totaling Rs 90.9 lakh, but got only Rs 22,000 back through two small credits that investigators believe were probably sent to win his trust.When the accused stopped picking up his calls or responding to messages, the man realized he had been defrauded, and contacted the National Cyber ​​Crime Helpline and lodged a formal complaint on Saturday.Cyber ​​crime police have registered a case and started investigation to trace WhatsApp users, bank account holders and others involved in the alleged fraud.