How the stock tips group trap usually works. Someone is added to a WhatsApp group run by a "professor" or "SEBI registered analyst" with a famous-sounding name. Every day there are market tips, screenshots of big profits, and members thanking the admin.

After a week, members are asked to download a "institutional trading app" to get IPO allotments and block deals at discounts. The app shows the money growing fast: an investment of ₹2 lakh shows as ₹9 lakh within a month. When the person tries to withdraw, there is a "service fee", then a "tax", then the account is frozen.

The other members cheering in the group are usually part of the scam. Check any adviser on the SEBI website, and trade only through a registered broker's own app from the official app store.