Nithin Kamath, the founder of Zerodha, issued a caution following an attempted scam where an individual posing as a Zerodha employee aimed to swindle millions from a client. The scammer approached a client, promising an unrevealed reward awaiting redemption. However, the catch was a demanded 'registration fee' of ₹1.8 lakh to unlock the purported windfall.

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To heighten the deception, the scammer fabricated counterfeit bank statements, attempting to dupe the client into believing in the scheme's authenticity, Kamath mentioned on platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Scams involving fake screenshots, P&L reports, ID cards, bank statements, etc., have become a mega nuisance. We just spotted a new one.

A scammer created a fake Zerodha employee ID card and met our customer whom he had spotted online and said he had won an award from Zerodha. He… pic.twitter.com/RA3DQoPuhp— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) November 22, 2023

Fortunately, the client exercised caution and refrained from parting with any money. Instead, they alerted Zerodha about the suspicious interaction, prompting a collective warning to thwart such deceitful practices.

Nithin Kamath, in his post, expressed dismay over the audacity of scammers resorting to impersonation and fabrications to exploit unsuspecting individuals.

"There are now fake clone apps that scammers can use to create videos of P&L statements, ledgers and other reports of trading platforms and bank accounts. These scams are increasing exponentially, and we need to use every opportunity to educate people around us to be suspicious of people claiming to be representatives of large companies and promising a lot of money. By default question the authenticity of any document shown unless it is directly accessed from the source," he said.

He added that the problem of fraud will continue to get worse as artificial intelligence (AI) tools become more accessible.

This incident further underscores the importance of vigilance and verifying the authenticity of claims, especially when involving financial transactions. Kamath emphasised the necessity for clients to cross-verify information with the respective brokerage firm.

First Published:Nov 23, 2023 5:28 PM IST