Operation 'Demat Daka' impact: Mumbai gang involved in share market fraud busted, 4 held

Demat Daka Impact: The cyber arm of Mumbai Police on Tuesday busted a gang of fraudsters involved in using data of customers of a stockbroker company. According to a Mumbai Police Tweet, North Region Cyber Police Station arrested four men on charges of being involved in fraudulent activities.

The development comes close on the heels of Zee Business' operation 'Demat Daka' which was aired on Tuesday morning. Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi explained how scamsters are wiping out investors' funds from their Demat accounts by making just a call. Be it big brokers, market experts or retail investors or traders, he said, none has been spared by these fraudsters who call in disguise of your broker often.

Thereafter, digital stockbroker platform Zerodha also issued an advisory to its customers on cyber security. Zerodha in its advisory suggested rights steps for login and time-based one-time password (TOTP) for trading in penny stocks as well as illiquid options on its platform. It also mentioned how Demat accounts are compromised and pointed out a few commonsense security best practices.

कौन कहता है आसमाँ में सुराख़ हो नहीं सकता…
एक पत्थर तो तबियत से उछालो यारों

Big Coverage-Instant Action

Mumbai Police arrested few fraudsters

After #DematDaka coverage, @zerodhaonline issued advisory on cyber security

Thank you @MumbaiPolice @ZeeBusiness @SEBI_India https://t.co/mGYC1kRfPZ

— Anil Singhvi Zee Business (@AnilSinghvi_) July 19, 2022

Reacting to the arrests made by the police, Anil Singhvi tweeted, "Big Coverage-Instant Action. Mumbai Police arrested a few fraudsters. After #DematDaka coverage."

In an over one-hour-long show yesterday, Anil Singhvi spoke to the victims who narrated their ordeal. They explained how scamsters are wiping out funds from Demat accounts of investors by making just a call. They highlighted the modus operandi, wherein hackers ask OTP to update KYC after earning your trust. Once the hackers get OTP, they are able to access your account and they replace your fundamentally good stocks in the portfolio with penny stocks and sell your shares in many cases. 

Zee Business launched an investigation after many traders reported to the business channel that unauthorized trading is being carried out in their accounts.