In Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, a young man named Amit Kumar fell victim to cybercriminals who promised significant profits from online trading. The con artists initially contacted him via phone and later drew him into a WhatsApp group designed to facilitate their scam. They tricked him into downloading a fake trading application, where they lured him with the idea of lucrative returns on investments. Initially, they sent small amounts to build trust before eventually extracting crores from him.

The scheme came to light when Amit reported the fraud to the police, detailing that he received the first phone call in the last week of December 2025. The caller posed as an expert in stock trading and encouraged him to join an online class and buy shares. On January 1, 2026, he was added to a WhatsApp group called 'Fidum Institutional Stock Trading,' which aimed to share tips and notifications regarding stock market investments. The orchestrators of the scam provided tools that made the investment seem legitimate while manipulating the information to siphon off large sums of money from Amit.

This incident raises broader concerns about online scams related to trading as more individuals venture into digital investments. It highlights the need for increased awareness and preventive measures against such frauds, especially as reliance on technology and online platforms continue to grow. Authorities are now called upon to enhance their efforts in educating the public about online trading risks and implementing stricter controls to prevent similar incidents in the future.