Spot The Scam: Exposing Illegal Dabba Trading, One Step At A Time | Profit Campaign
NDTV Profit has launched "Spot The Scam" against fraudulent market advice by "dabba traders". Advices that promise mega returns and attempt to lure unaware retail investors.
NDTV Profit has launched a campaign — Spot The Scam — against fraudulent market advice by "dabba traders". Advices that promise mega returns and attempt to lure unaware retail investors. The too-good-to-be-true promises are laden with risks and can potentially wipe off someone's investments if things go wrong.
Mapping 'Spot The Scam'
In quite an audacious move, a Delhi-based unregistered stock advisory firm operating from Shahdara published a full front-page advertisement in a Hindi daily on July 13, luring investors with promises of sky-high margins, zero brokerage, instant deposits and withdrawals, and no-document trading accounts—all without SEBI registration.
The firm, operating under the brand name Trade Dost, claimed to offer intraday margins up to 500 times and carry-forward margins of 60 times. These features—clearly outside the regulatory framework—caught Profit’s attention.
Hence, the team decided to give the entities involved a call in order to get a bigger picture.
On the call, the firm's representative, identifying himself as "Raghav", openly admitted that they were not registered with SEBI. When questioned about the legality of offering financial advice and services without regulatory approval, he showed little concern.
When asked about their location, he confirmed the operation was based in Shahdara, Delhi, and that they were using UAE-based phone numbers. He abruptly ended the conversation when pressed further, saying, “You do your business, I’ll do mine.”
The story was published the following morning. Soon after, India's leading bourse, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) issued an investor caution circular, warning the public not to engage with unregistered advisory firms making such offers. The exchange also mentioned that Trading Dost is not a platform that investors should associate with.
Following this, NDTV Profit reached out again to the same contact number. The second conversation revealed a dramatic shift in tone— the unregistered firm's representative now contradicted his earlier statements and attempted to downplay the firm’s offerings.
One of the earlier numbers had been deactivated for incoming calls. But on the second line, Mr. Raghav was once again reachable, though this time his narrative had changed completely.
While this may seem like an isolated case of overzealous, unregulated financial activity, it is far from unique. Across India, thousands of such dabba trading entities thrive, running operations through Telegram groups, YouTube channels, WhatsApp broadcasts, and unsolicited SMS campaigns.
These unregistered firms not only bypass regulatory oversight but also expose investors to massive risks, including financial loss, legal consequences, and identity theft.
SEBI registration is mandatory for anyone offering financial advisory services or operating trading platforms in India. If it sounds too good to be true—it probably is.
