Market Fraud Alert: Nithin Kamath's Advice To Spot And Avoid Scam Groups

Zerodha Founder Nithin Kamath has raised alarms over the increasing number of stock market frauds in India, saying that scams have escalated significantly in recent months.

"The trend of these frauds are increasing. The past nine months alone have had scams worth 11,000 crores! I dread to think what it will be like once the fraudsters use AI," he said in a post on X.

Kamath also urged individuals to take precautionary steps to protect themselves from scams, especially in the digital age where communication platforms are often exploited by fraudsters. He recommended tightening privacy settings on popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram to prevent scammers from adding users to fraudulent groups.

"One thing you can do to protect yourself is change the settings on your WhatsApp and Telegram so strangers can't add you to groups. Here's screenshots of the settings screen that show how to do it," Kamath advised. He followed this up by sharing a screenshot of the settings screen on these platforms, offering a step-by-step guide on how to implement these changes.

Amid rising money fraud a new type of scam has taken center stage, digital arrest fraud. In the past week, there have been 11 reported incidents of digital arrest scams. So far in 2024, there have been 12 lakh complaints, resulting in a total loss of Rs 11,333 crore.

A 'digital arrest' refers to a new and growing form of cyber fraud, in which, scammers impersonate law enforcement officials or representatives from government agencies, using intimidation tactics through audio or video calls. They hold the victims psychologically hostage, applying pressure to compel them to make payments. It is also important to note that if you fall prey to any such online money fraud the first action to take is to call 1930, a financial helpline available across the country.