UDUPI: A youth lost Rs 23.4 lakh from his account after being added to a WhatsApp group. The incident happened at Udupi in Karnataka. The money was lost from the account of Maurice Lobo. Reports said that he had fallen into the trap of an online fraud gang, thinking of earning high profits by investing in the stock market.

The gang promised to double the money in the name of online trading. He was later added to a WhatsApp group called 'Aarayaa HSS'. Many would send messages claiming to have made profits by joining this gang. With this, Maurice Lobo believed them and sent Rs 23.4 lakh from his and his mother's account. This amount was transferred in installments from December 2, 2024 to January 6, 2025 to various bank accounts mentioned in the group.

However, after investing so much money, he did not get any profits and so Lobo filed a complaint at the CEN police station. This is not the first incident of losing money after being added to WhatsApp groups.

In the last few months, news of many falling victim to such financial fraud has come to light. People are being added to WhatsApp groups and their money is being stolen by promising to earn lakhs and crores through online trading. Such frauds are also active through Telegram groups. Therefore, one should be very careful when receiving messages and links from strangers.