TL;DR:
- A retired engineer lost $130,000, or 1.28 crore rupees, after a DBS-branded trading app linked to a WhatsApp group showed gains before blocking withdrawals.
- The scheme relied on staged profits, a 20% fee and references to IPOs and share buybacks to mimic legitimate trading opportunities.
- Cyberabad cybercrime police registered a case and warn investors to verify platforms, distrust guaranteed returns and report suspicious apps or WhatsApp groups.
A fake DBS-branded crypto app has triggered concern in India after a retired engineer reported losing 1.28 crore rupees, highlighting rising investor exposure to online frauds in rapidly expanding digital markets. The case, centred on a WhatsApp group and a cloned trading app, has prompted police to urge investors to scrutinise platforms before sending money.
WhatsApp group trap
The fraud began when a retired engineer from Miyapur was added to a WhatsApp group called 531 DBS Stock Profit Growth Wealth Group, run by people styling themselves Professor Rajat Verma and analyst Meena Bhatt, who promoted it as a specialised forum for premium trading ideas. Members were told they could access strategies normally closed to ordinary investors.
Within this setting, organisers told the victim to download an app labelled DBS, hosted at ggtkss.cc, and presented it as a trusted route into block trades and IPO allocations. The retiree deposited ₹1 lakh that day, and a withdrawal of ₹5,000 appeared to validate the service.
From 4 November to 5 December, the victim moved more than 1.2 crore rupees through bank and Unified Payments Interface channels, including what he believed were subscriptions to a Capital Small Finance Bank IPO and a share buyback offer. During this period, the app showed a growing balance, reinforcing his belief that the trades were working.
The scheme collapsed when the investor sought to withdraw funds and the operators refused, demanding a 20% payment to release the balance, an ultimatum that turned apparent gains into an unrecoverable loss. When he declined, access was blocked and the loss, roughly $130,000 or 1.28 crore rupees, prompted a complaint to the Cyberabad cybercrime police.
Investigators registered a case under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, noting that cloned apps, curated chat groups and escalating deposits now define a repeatable fraud template. Officials say similar schemes mix false credentials, promises of guaranteed returns and tightly managed social channels.
Police use the case to urge stronger investor due diligence as digital markets expand, stressing that realistic branding, structured trading narratives and staged withdrawals can easily outpace basic checks. Retail participants are advised to confirm platform authenticity, verify regulatory approval and promptly report suspicious apps, links or WhatsApp groups to cybercrime portals for quicker intervention.
