Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath spread a word of caution following an attempted scam. A Zerodha employee tried to siphon millions off a client. The scammer approached the client with the promise of an unrevealed reward that the client was set to receive. The catch here was the demand of a registration fee of Rs.1.8 lakh to start a domino effect.
The scammer went to such heights to forge bank statements to make the client believe in the schemes authenticity. Kamath took to X to mention this and issue caution.
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
Luckily, the client refused to part with any money. And, instead informed Zerodha about the interaction.
Kamath shared, “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 added that the problem of fraud will continue to get worse as artificial intelligence (AI) tools become more accessible.
Kamath has emphasised the necessity for clients to cross-verify information with the respective brokerage firm.