Mumbai woman arrested for hacking demat account, selling shares worth ₹4.58 crore

Mumbai Police have arrested a woman for allegedly hacking into another woman’s Demat account, selling shares worth ₹4.58 crore and using part of the proceeds to purchase penny stocks, resulting in a loss of ₹2.86 crore, officials said on Wednesday (November 4, 2026).

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cybercrime) Bajrang Bansode said the complainant had approached the accused to invest in her company. The accused allegedly used the complainant’s personal information obtained during their interactions to hack into her Demat account and carry out unauthorised transactions.

According to police, the incident occurred on August 10, 2026, between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Shares worth ₹4,58,34,579 were sold from the complainant’s account, following which penny stocks worth ₹1,71,60,032 were purchased without her consent. Police said the transactions resulted in a loss of ₹2,86,74,547.

Following the complaint, a case was registered at the South Region Cyber Police Station, Mumbai, on August 26.

During the investigation, police found that the one-time passwords (OTPs) required to access the Demat account had been received at the complainant’s registered email address. Police said their investigation revealed that the accused had allegedly obtained access to the complainant’s email account and mobile phone through a link sent to her device.

Police suspect that the accused used this access to retrieve the OTPs, log into the Demat account and execute the unauthorised transactions.

The accused was arrested on November 3. Police said she had previously been arrested in four other cases registered at Santacruz, Azad Maidan and Andheri police stations under provisions relating to cheating, impersonation and offences under the Information Technology Act.

Police have urged citizens not to conduct stock market transactions through links or applications received from unknown numbers and warned against sharing Demat account passwords, OTPs and email credentials. Victims of cyber fraud have been advised to contact the national cybercrime helpline at 1930 or register complaints at www.cybercrime.gov.in.