Retired army Colonel loses ₹1.98 crore to online investment fraud in Bengaluru

A 71-year-old retired Indian Army Colonel and his wife were allegedly duped of around Rs 1.98 billion through a pre-planned online investment and cyber fraud after being lured through a fake trading platform misusing the name of a well-known stock market expert.

The victim, a resident of Richards Town in Bengaluru, stated that he and his wife were persuaded to invest a large sum of money in mid-December 2025 after he came across an online advertisement from an organization promising high and guaranteed returns.

According to the complaint, the couple was contacted by a woman who identified herself as Swati Verma and claimed that the investment scheme was linked to a well-known stockbroker. The victims were later added to a WhatsApp group with more than 60 members.

Believing the scheme to be genuine, the couple downloaded the ‘Stokohni’ app from the Google Play Store and transferred around Rs 1.98 crore through bank transfers on different dates between December 16, 2025 and January 5, 2026, to multiple accounts provided by the fraudsters. It was reported that this amount was all the money they had saved throughout their lives.

On December 31, the couple was informed that a so-called ‘credit’ of ₹40 lakh had been created in their account and needed to be approved to continue trading. They paid the price by acting in good faith. However, when they tried to withdraw the funds on January 9, they were told to clear another alleged loan of ₹70 lakh, which was questionable.

The scam was discovered on January 12 when victims contacted the official online trading support team, who informed them via email that the scheme was fraudulent.

The victims have now appealed to the authorities to register a case, investigate the relevant bank accounts, mobile numbers and WhatsApp groups and recover the fraudulent amount. Based on the complaint, the Cyber ​​Crime Police registered an FIR against unknown persons and charged them with cheating and impersonation under the IT Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on Friday.