- By Yashashvi Tak
- Mon, 24 Nov 2025 02:20 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A 74-year-old Bengaluru resident lost Rs 1.33 crore to a fraudster who posed as a representative of a wealth management firm. The victim, identified as Shivakumar, has filed a complaint with the National Cybercrime Cell, and an investigation is currently underway.
According to the NDTV report, Shivakumar was browsing the internet when he stumbled upon a site claiming to belong to ‘Anand Rathi Wealth Limited’. Using the contact number listed there, he reached out via WhatsApp and was connected to a person who introduced himself as Ankith Mahesh. The individual allegedly explained various “high-return” investment plans and urged Shivakumar to install an app using a link he provided -https://anewadmini.top.
Convinced by the promise of substantial gains from IPO-related investments, Shivakumar transferred Rs 1,15,50,000 from his Axis Bank account. He also arranged an additional transfer of Rs 18,00,000 from the Canara Bank account of his relative, Vinay Kumar. Altogether, Rs 1,33,50,000 was sent to the fraudster.
On September 21, Shivakumar lodged a complaint stating that Mahesh neither repaid the money nor delivered the returns he had assured, after which he realised he had fallen victim to a scam.
In a separate incident, the UP Cyber Crime Police have opened probes into two separate frauds in which retired government officials in Lucknow lost more than Rs 30 lakh to callers posing as officers from security and government agencies. In one of the cases, Gaya Prasad Tripathi, a retired teacher from Rajajipuram, was defrauded of Rs 12.57 lakh by a man who introduced himself as an inspector from the ATS headquarters in Lucknow.
According to Tripathi’s complaint, the caller contacted him on November 7, falsely accusing him of links with Pakistan and claiming that a person named Afzal Khan from Delhi had flagged his number for suspicious activity. The impostor allegedly threatened him with arrest and, under the pretext of protecting him from legal trouble, pressured him into transferring the money. Inspector Brijesh Yadav said an FIR has been lodged, Rs 2.5 lakh from the transactions has been frozen, and efforts are underway to trace the suspect through IP address details.