A 58-year-old teacher in Bengaluru has fallen victim to a deceptive online investment scheme promising AI-managed returns, resulting in a loss of over ₹30 lakh, amid a rising wave of digital financial scams across India.
A 58-year-old teacher in Bengaluru has allegedly lost ₹30.63 lakh in an online investment fraud that police say was promoted through a deceptive advert posing as a Government of India-backed scheme linked to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The complaint, filed with the East CEN Crime Police Station, says the victim found the ad on Google in February and was drawn in by claims that artificial intelligence would manage the investments.
Police said the teacher joined the scheme on February 11 and kept sending money until July 3, believing she was dealing with investment advisers and financial staff. The complaint names several people and lists contact numbers allegedly used in the fraud, along with bank accounts into which the money was transferred.
The victim told investigators she had pledged her gold and borrowed from friends and relatives to keep investing, underscoring how such scams can spiral once trust is established. Bengaluru has seen some of the country’s biggest online investment frauds in recent years: in 2023, police said they uncovered a ₹854 crore racket in which victims were lured with promises of daily returns, with money routed through cryptocurrencies, gaming apps and mule accounts.
That wider pattern has prompted a more aggressive response from Indian authorities. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has blocked more than 100 websites linked to investment and job scams, while the Union Home Ministry has told Parliament that the value of online financial frauds in India rose sharply between 2022 and 2023. Police in the latest Bengaluru case have registered offences under the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the investigation is continuing.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
