Chasing high profits turn costly as HR executive falls for online investment scam, loses ₹36 lakh

Amid a rise in online scams, another person – reportedly an HR manager – fell prey to fraud, losing ₹36.74 lakh in an online investment scam, a Navi Mumbai police official told PTI on Sunday.

The victim was cheated after he came in contact with a woman claiming to be a representative of a SEBI-registered firm. Later he was added to a WhatsApp group with the promise of high returns in share trading, the Nerul police station official said.

As per official data, Indians have lost a staggering sum to scam over the past six years, with more than ₹52,976 crore wiped out due to various cyber frauds and cheating cases, Indian Express reported earlier.

How did the victim lose money?

According to the official, the victim was asked to download a link which was sent to him by the accused. He was lured into the trap after being offered an initial profit of ₹50,000, a move aimed at gaining his trust.

Later, the HR executive invested a total of ₹36.74 lakh between August and September 2025. However, when he was unable to withdraw the so-called profits, he realised that he had been duped by the accused, Nerul police station inspector Bramhanand Naikwadi said.

The police official also confirmed that a case has been registered against unidentified persons for criminal breach of trust and other offences under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Information Technology Act, PTI reported.

Online frauds wipe out Indians' accounts

According to official data released by the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, around ₹19,812.96 crore were lost and 21,77,524 cheating-related fraud complaints were received in 2025.

The report also reveals that there has been a substantial rise in financial crimes, especially the ones involving investment traps, digital arrest, online scams, banking frauds, and cyber phishing.

Out of ₹19,812 crore lost by people in 2025, about 77% of the total money were stolen in the name of investment schemes, 8% of the funds were lost through digital arrest, 7% via credit card fraud, 4% in sextortion, 3% in e-commerce fraud and 1% to app/malware based fraud, the data cited in the Indian Express report reveals.

In states-wise distinction, Maharashtra recorded the highest monetary losses in cheating-related offences across the country last year, with ₹3,203 crore lost and 28,33,20 complaints recorded. Maharashtra is followed closely by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the report showed.