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Nithin Kamath voiced concerns over the rising number of financial scams after a Bengaluru techie lost approximately Rs 91 lakh in a stock market scam.
He highlighted the role Telegram and WhatsApp groups play in these frauds. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
After a techie from Bengaluru lost nearly Rs 91 lakh in a stock market scam, Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath raised concerns about the rising prevalence of financial frauds. Along with highlighting this recent case, the billionaire shared a crucial tip to help people protect themselves from such scams. Kamath, 45, revealed that over Rs 11,000 crores had been lost to cyber frauds in the past nine months, signalling a troubling increase in these fraudulent activities.
The CEO of Zerodha gave the most recent instance of a software engineer from Bengaluru who lost Rs 91 lakh after falling for scammers who promised enormous stock market gains. “The trend of these frauds are increasing. The past 9 months alone have had scams worth 11000 crores! I dread to think what it will be like once the fraudsters use AI,” Nithin Kamath shared in a post.
The trend of these frauds are increasing. The past 9 months alone have had scams worth 11000 crores! I dread to think what it will be like once the fraudsters use AI. 😔One thing you can do to protect yourself is change the settings on your WhatsApp and Telegram so strangers… pic.twitter.com/Wl6mz30c52
— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) November 29, 2024
The founder of Zerodha brought attention to the part that Telegram and WhatsApp groups play in these types of frauds, as scammers often recruit gullible individuals and offer them large payouts. Unless someone you can trust adds you to a WhatsApp group, Kamath advised against joining.
“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,” he also wrote.
Additionally, Nithin Kamath provided screenshots of the settings screen that demonstrate the process. To make sure that only their contacts may add them to WhatsApp groups, users can modify the settings.
Within a few hours of being shared, he post has garnered over 1 lakh views.
A user wrote, “I’m going to do this for my parents. Old people are at much higher risk of fraud now”.
I’m going to do this for my parents. Old people are at much higher risk of fraud now.— Megha Mookim (@mookimmegha) November 29, 2024
Another said, “Good information. I have updated my WhatsApp privacy settings accordingly.”
Good information. I have updated my whatsapp privacy settings accordingly.— Neetu Khandelwal (@T_Investor_) November 29, 2024
“Changing group settings is a great tip! but we need more awareness campaigns to educate people,” a user posted on X.
changing group settings is a great tip! but we need more awareness campaigns to educate people— Pratik Thakkar (@PratikThakkarCO) November 29, 2024
“One thing common in all these scams is assured profits return. And some even say no loss investments,” another asked.
