Fraudsters use Azim Premji’s name in ₹35 lakh investment scam

Bengaluru

In a growing wave of cyber fraud, scamsters have reportedly impersonated employees of Azim Premji’s investment office, Premji Invest, to lure unsuspecting individuals into fake online trading groups. A recent complaint filed with the Bengaluru police reveals that a city-based victim was duped of ₹35 lakh by fraudsters using WhatsApp groups, misleading apps, and claims of high returns in the name of Premji Invest. The FIR is registered at East CEN police station.

According to the police complaint, the victim came across an unknown trading page on June 6 and clicked a link related to stock market trading. This led them to join a WhatsApp group allegedly operated by individuals posing as part of Premji Invest. The group encouraged participation via the group identified as ‘H088 Premji Invest Stock Exchange Group” (Mobile Numbers Used in WhatsApp Group-9939922628, 9389175251 9451194381)  where the complainant was convinced to invest money for high profits.

Falling for the promise of better returns with higher investments, the victim transferred ₹35 lakh in multiple tranches to various bank accounts, including those held at Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank (with account numbers ending in 00169, 00193, 512298, and 01098). The fraudsters collected the money using UPI platforms and bank transfers, but never returned the invested amount.

In light of such scams, Premji Invest has officially issued a public scam alert on its website, warning that it does not offer any investment advisory services to retail or institutional investors. The firm clarified that it has no affiliation with any WhatsApp groups or trading platforms claiming to represent it and urged people to report such incidents on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in).

Authorities are investigating the case, and the police are working to identify and apprehend those behind the fraudulent WhatsApp group and bogus trading platform.

Cybercrime officials have once again advised the public to verify the authenticity of investment opportunities and avoid falling prey to impersonation scams.

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