Invited to a stock tips WhatsApp group? How to check it before you send a rupee

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Fake 'VIP' and 'institutional account' groups are behind most of the money Indians lose to cyber fraud. Check SEBI registration, the broker's app and the payee's UPI ID before you invest anything.

01 / Why this scam costs Indians the most

Investment fraud is where most of the money goes. Indians lost ₹22,495 crore to cyber fraud in 2025, and investment scams accounted for 76% of it, according to Home Ministry data reported by ThePrint in February 2026. That is more than ₹17,000 crore in a single year.

Most of those losses start the same way: an invitation to a group that promises to make you money in the stock market. This guide is for the moment before you join, or before you send your first payment. It is not investment advice. It only helps you check whether the people asking for your money are who they say they are.

02 / How the script works

SEBI's investor website sets out the stages of the fake trading app scam, and they rarely change:

• The hook: an ad on WhatsApp, Telegram or social media promising high returns, or an unsolicited link to a "VIP Group" or "Free Trading Course", as SEBI described in a May 2025 caution.
• Trust building: a so-called professor or expert shares analysis and early tips that seem to work. Other members, who SEBI says play a supporting role in the scam, post screenshots of big profits.
• The app: you are asked to install a trading app or open a website, often for an "institutional account" or pre-IPO access.
• Fake profits: the app shows your money growing, so you deposit more. You may be urged to borrow.
• Blocked withdrawal: when you try to take money out, excuses and fees appear. Then the app stops working.

BSE has warned that in these schemes the investments never actually reach a stock exchange. They exist only as figures inside the app.

03 / Check the adviser: is this person registered with SEBI?

SEBI's May 2025 caution says investors should deal only with SEBI-registered intermediaries and check their registration before investing. For someone offering tips or advice, that means SEBI's public registers of Investment Advisers (IAs) and Research Analysts (RAs).

• Search SEBI's list of registered Investment Advisers and registered Research Analysts.
• Match the name, registration number and contact details. NSE has flagged impostors claiming to work for real registered brokers, so a real firm's name proves nothing on its own. Contact the registered entity through the details on SEBI's list, not the ones in the group.
• SEBI warns that fraudsters impersonate registered intermediaries, well-known public figures and company heads. Talk only to genuine social media handles, which exchanges list through SEBI's investor support page.

04 / Check the app and the account your money goes to

A legitimate trade goes through a SEBI-registered stock broker, in a trading and demat account in your own name.

• Find the broker: NSE's Know/Locate your Stock Broker tool shows registered members, their Authorised Persons and the designated client bank accounts they use to receive and pay investor money.
• Match the app: SEBI's investor support page links to exchange lists of authorised mobile trading apps. If the app you were sent is not on those lists under that broker, do not use it.
• Never install an APK: SEBI's fake trading app warning lists unverified app links and APK files as red flags. Download only from official app stores, and only the app you found yourself.
• Never pay a third party: SEBI says legitimate platforms do not take payments into third-party accounts. Money going to an individual or an unrelated company is the scam.
• Never share your login: NSE warns investors not to share their trading user ID or password with anyone offering to "handle" their account.

05 / Use SEBI's @valid UPI handles and SEBI Check

Since 1 October 2025, SEBI-registered investor-facing intermediaries can collect money through an exclusive UPI handle issued by NPCI. It works like this, according to SEBI:

• The UPI ID ends in @valid plus the bank's name, with a suffix for the type of entity: for example abc.brk@validhdfc for a broker or xyz.mf@validicici for a mutual fund.
• When you pay, a thumbs-up inside a green triangle icon appears. SEBI says its absence is a warning that you may be paying an unauthorised entity.
• SEBI Check lets you confirm a UPI ID, or a bank account number and IFSC, before paying by UPI, NEFT, RTGS or IMPS. Use it at siportal.sebi.gov.in or in SEBI's Saarthi app.

The @valid handle is an additional payment option, not the only legitimate one. But if the account you are told to pay does not pass SEBI Check, stop.

06 / Red flags the regulators keep repeating

• Guaranteed returns. NSE says offering indicative, assured or guaranteed returns in the stock market is prohibited by law.
• "Institutional" or "FPI" accounts with special privileges. NSE warns of groups offering these, sometimes without any official trading or demat account, and showing fake certificates purportedly issued by SEBI or the exchanges.
• Pre-IPO subscriptions with assured profits. NSE lists this among the tactics of unregistered entities.
• A minister or celebrity in the ad. PIB's Fact Check Unit flagged AI-generated videos of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promoting investment platforms in January and April 2026. The government said it has not endorsed any such scheme.
• No recourse. NSE says exchange investor protection, dispute resolution and grievance mechanisms are not available for disputes over such prohibited schemes.

07 / Already paid? Stop, report, and beware of recovery offers

• Stop paying. SEBI lists surprise fees at withdrawal as a stage of the scam, just before the app stops working. A "tax", "fee" or "unlock charge" is a request for more money, not a way to get yours back.
• Report fast: SEBI's fake trading app warning directs victims to the 1930 helpline and cybercrime.gov.in. Keep every UPI ID, account number, transaction reference, app name and chat screenshot.
• SCORES is only for registered entities. SEBI's complaint system, SCORES, handles complaints against listed companies, registered intermediaries and market infrastructure institutions. Its FAQ says complaints about unregistered or unregulated activity cannot be taken there, so a fake group is a matter for 1930 and the police.
• Beware of recovery agents. People who promise to get your money back for a fee are often running a second scam. Read our money recovery guide first.

08 / Your checklist before you invest

• Do not join stock tips groups from unsolicited links.
• Look up the adviser on SEBI's IA or RA list and contact them only through the listed details.
• Confirm the broker on NSE's Know/Locate your Stock Broker tool.
• Use only that broker's app from an official app store. Never an APK.
• Pay only an account that passes SEBI Check. Look for @valid and the thumbs-up icon.
• Walk away from guaranteed returns, institutional accounts and pre-IPO promises.
• Never share your trading login, OTP or PIN.
• If you have paid: stop, call 1930, file on cybercrime.gov.in.