Mumbai Police Arrest Three in Trading-App Network That Used Fake Profits and IPO Narratives to Block Withdrawals

Mumbai cyber police have dismantled a trading-app investment fraud that siphoned ₹48.5 lakh from a market professional through a coordinated WhatsApp-based scheme using a cloned mobile application and mule banking channels. Investigators confirmed that three individuals based in western India were arrested for supplying bank accounts, routing funds, and extracting cash on behalf of a larger cyber fraud syndicate. The scam operated between mid-November and December 2025 and relied on fabricated trading data, staged withdrawals, and a false IPO lock-up narrative to block redemptions while escalating deposits.

According to police findings, the victim was contacted by a female caller posing as a representative of a SEBI-linked brokerage and was subsequently added to multiple WhatsApp groups that distributed stock tips, IPO allocations and screenshots of fabricated profits. He was instructed to download a trading application, “TMGPLUS”, via a shared link. The app visually mirrored legitimate trading platforms and displayed manipulated account balances, enabling the fraudsters to induce repeated transfers through IMPS, NEFT and RTGS channels into multiple third-party bank accounts.

App cloning and staged liquidity traps

Investigators confirmed that the application permitted limited early withdrawals to establish credibility before blocking larger redemptions. When the victim attempted to exit, operators claimed the funds were “locked” under an IPO allotment process and demanded an additional ₹50 lakh to release the balance — a structure consistent with investment scams using false regulatory pretexts.

Mule accounts and cash-out structure

Transaction tracing identified a ₹33 lakh transfer routed through an RBL Bank account registered to a private company entity, which police say functioned as a laundering conduit. One suspect provided his personal banking access, another sourced additional accounts, and a third handled cash extraction and handover to upstream controllers. All three received commission payments per transaction cycle.