Victims Across India
Panipat, Haryana: A businessman was defrauded of ₹70 lakhs. Panchkula, Haryana: A BSNL official lost ₹33 lakhs. Nagpur, Maharashtra: A victim was scammed out of ₹45 lakhs. Odisha: One individual lost ₹25 lakhs. The Modus Operandi
The scammers, led by Anil Agrawal, Director of Ratefin, set up a fake financial services front. They used real SEBI and LEI registration numbers, taken from genuine databases, to appear credible. A non-functional website (http://ratefin.shop) was hosted with a Mauritius address and a fake Mumbai office address to mislead investors. Initial contact was always made via WhatsApp, through profiles that appeared legitimate, usually attractive women. After gaining trust, they invited targets to an exclusive investment group with a referral code system. Early investments of ₹50,000 to ₹2–3 lakhs were returned with fake profits to build confidence. Later, they promoted fake IPOs like “IPCO,” convincing victims to invest larger sums, which were then locked or siphoned off. Instagram Connection
One key bait profile was “Meena Joshi,” whose profile image was taken from Ananya Joshi, a real Instagram influencer from Mumbai with 108K followers. On June 30, Ananya publicly stated someone was using her pictures without consent. The Ratefin scam’s link to Mumbai is suspicious as both the fake company and the impersonated Instagram profile list Mumbai as their base, raising questions about whether it was identity theft or an inside connection. Rebranding the Fraud
After being exposed, Ratefin Investment rebranded itself as Premier Investment Fund Limited, using the same:
Staff with new names (e.g., Meena Joshi became Nikita Sharma, Anil Agrawal became Raja Kumar) Website: https://premieron.com (non-functional with fake contact details) Mauritius and Mumbai addresses (unchanged) Public Warning
This is a well-orchestrated cyber fraud operation. The cybercriminals rely on:
Identity spoofing Social engineering via WhatsApp and Instagram Fake SEBI/LEI legitimacy Psychological manipulation of investment behavior What You Should Do:
If you've interacted with or been defrauded by Ratefin Investment or Premier Investment Fund Limited:
File an immediate complaint at cybercrime.gov.in Report to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) or the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Preserve all chats, payment proofs, referral codes, and social media screenshots