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Stock market WhatsApp group scams and fake trading apps

A WhatsApp or Telegram group that promises big stock-market returns, moves you to a trading app that is not your own broker's, and asks you to send money to personal or company bank accounts is a scam. The profits on screen are invented, and the fee to withdraw is the last trick. Before you invest, look up the adviser or broker on SEBI's website yourself, and trade only through a SEBI-registered broker in your own demat account.
A trading screen showing stock price tables and red and green candlestick charts
Photo: PIX1861 on Pixabay

Before you invest on a WhatsApp or Telegram tip

Tap each one as you check it.

How the group scam works

SEBI says these groups start with unsolicited links to join WhatsApp groups with names like “VIP Group” or “Free Trading Courses”. The people running them pose as market experts, and often pretend to be SEBI-registered firms, well-known public figures or company heads.

Other members post screenshots of huge profits. SEBI says these members are part of the scam, there to make you believe you can earn the same.

Kerala Police describe what comes next: daily “sessions” from a mentor, a few small real gains, then a push to a fake app that copies a well-known firm. Money goes to several bank accounts for an “institutional” or “VIP” trading account. The app shows rising returns, and when you try to withdraw you are asked for more fees, then locked out.

What the messages look like

Example. Names and numbers are made up.

How to check an adviser, broker or app

  1. Look up the person or firm in SEBI's list of registered intermediaries. Search it yourself rather than trusting a registration number or certificate sent in the chat.
  2. Install a trading app only from your broker's own website or its app store page, never from a link in a group. SEBI and Google Play now show a verified label on the apps of SEBI-registered brokers.
  3. Before paying a broker or fund, use SEBI Check on SEBI's website to confirm the UPI ID or bank account belongs to a registered firm. Registered brokers and mutual funds collect through validated UPI handles ending in @valid.
  4. Money for shares should go from your bank to your own registered broker, never to a person's account or an unrelated company.

Signs of a group scam

  • Guaranteed or very high returns
  • An “institutional”, “VIP” or IPO allotment account
  • An app installed from a link, not your broker's
  • Deposits to personal or unrelated company accounts
  • Tax or fees before you can withdraw

Signs of a real investment

  • No promise of fixed or huge returns
  • Trades in your own demat account
  • The broker is on SEBI's register
  • Payments go to the broker's verified account
  • You can withdraw without paying anyone extra

Why so much money is lost this way

According to Home Ministry data reported by ThePrint, investment frauds made up about 35% of cyber fraud cases reported in India in 2025 but about 76% of the money lost. Losses are large because victims keep adding money while the fake app shows their “profit” growing.

If it already happened

  1. Stop paying, including any “tax”, “penalty” or fee to release your money.
  2. Call your bank on the number in its app or on your card and report the transfers as fraud.
  3. Take screenshots of the app, your balance, the group, the admins' numbers and every payment before you uninstall the app or leave the group.
  4. If the scammers used a real SEBI-registered firm's name, tell that firm through the contact details on its official website.
  5. Ignore anyone who later contacts you offering to recover the money for a fee.
  • Call 1930The national cyber fraud helpline. Call within hours if money left your account.
  • cybercrime.gov.inFile a complaint online and keep the acknowledgement number.
  • Chakshu on Sanchar SaathiReport a fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp number.

Questions

How do I check if someone is SEBI registered?
Search their name or registration number in SEBI's list of registered intermediaries at sebi.gov.in/intermediaries.html. Check that the name matches exactly and contact them only through the details listed there.
Are all stock tip groups on WhatsApp scams?
SEBI's advice is not to trust unsolicited messages from unverified people and not to join such groups. Deal only with SEBI-registered intermediaries through their real apps.
The app shows profit but will not let me withdraw. What should I do?
Treat the balance as fake and stop paying. Report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in and to your bank the same day.
Can a SEBI registration certificate be faked?
Yes, a number or certificate sent in a chat can be copied or forged. Look the firm up yourself on SEBI's website instead.

Realr does not check investments or trading apps, but you can ask someone who says they are an adviser to prove who they are with a Realr check.

Ask them to verify

Sources

Checked against the sources above on 17 October 2026. By Manav Sharma, Marketing Team, Realr. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

Ask them to prove who they are, before you pay or meet.

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