There’s been a sharp rise in WhatsApp investment scams recently, and it’s getting harder to spot because they look very real. We’ve been constantly tracking and reporting these scams, filing reports with social platforms, cybercrime, and legal complaints, and following up wherever needed.
Step 1: You’re added to a group with names like “Zerodha Elite Traders” or “Premium Investors Club.” The logo, colors, and even SEBI license numbers look legit. The admins pose as me, Nikhil, Venu, or some of our employees.
Step 2: Within hours, the chat is flooded with screenshots of 100–200% intraday returns and testimonials. All of them are fake.
Step 3: They peddle “premium signals” and link to a fake app that looks exactly like Kite. Once you deposit money, the dashboard shows imaginary profits.
Step 4: When you try to withdraw the profits, you’re told to pay processing fees, taxes, and verification charges. The scammers then take the money and vanish.
We at Zerodha do not offer stock tips, investment advice, or run WhatsApp or Telegram trading-signal groups. All official communication happens only through our verified channels.
Leaving this video here, which explains the whole thing properly. Give it a watch:
The best way to fight this is by creating awareness, so please share it in your trading, investing, friends, and family groups to make sure everyone is aware.
Clarity please: Do they ask to deposit money through the fake app? Do these fake whatsapp go to only existing Zerodha Customers. If it comes to me as an example (not zerodha customer) and if I do not have an account, I would know that this is fake.
Been with Icici Direct since 2007. Always wanted a well known broker and Icici Direct was owned by Icici bank. Also money is parked in my SB account which I can use and as and when I do buy shares, it gets debited. This was a great feature instead of moving money to brokers account. I get interest on float as well.
There is a saying in Malayalam -when loosely translated to English goes like this.
“if you can buy an elephant, do not be stingy when buying a chain for it”.
When we invest all our hard earned money, a small commission is acceptable if it gives peace of mind as to who the broker is.
PS: When Icici Direct increase commission, I tell them I am going to Zerodha, then they do will do something. I did ask Zerodha back several years and they showed attitude Then realised the value of what I have than what I will get.
Currently, since you do not trade on regular basis, you can transfer the exact amount to trading account that’s required for buying shares.
Yes, at the time of selling, you will receive proceeds a day later.
Float income may not be a lot considering the amount of brokerage you have to pay in icici.
Anyways, I am sure you have done your cost benefit analysis.
However, i suppose everyone has to do the math for themselves
and decide the better option based on one’s trading/investing patterns.
BTW, this pattern of using a 3-in-1 account for trading to get ~3% S.B.interest on the float,
reminds me of how one can invest in GSECs, just to pledge them for margin to trade with,
and keep getting 6-7% interest on the pledged “float”.
i used ICICI DIrct earlier , then , ICICI used to get Rs.85 & i used to get Rs.15 , if i make profit of Rs100, if i don;t make profit , still ICICI direct was getting Rs.85 , where as in Zerodha its the reverse , If i were to do once in a blue moon stock trade , i may consider ICICI Direct
Don’t ageee with you here. 6 percent is effectively 60 percent return per annum.
If I buy gsec of 100 when I pledge it I get back 90 for trading.
So the amount of funds blocked is just Rs. 10. I get interest of 6 rupees. So that works out to be 60 percent return on my blocked funds.
For an active trader who has deployed the 90 margin all the time.
However, if the margin spends a large % of time undeployed in the trading account,
that changes the math.
Also, since we are comparing against SB interest income that is earned even on weekends/holidays when the market is closed, That’s another 30% of time that this margin will be forced to remain undeployed.
So, it is like 100 blocked (not just 10), 30% of the time. No?
Someone with time on their hands
should create a graph with “breakeven” points between…
traditional-brokers offering 3-in1-accounts with SB-interest on float
vs.
discount-brokers offering lower brokerage
…for various levels of active-passive investment/trading patterns.
( am sure the brokerages have done the math, as they continue to offer these schemes )
It’s all about the how would he keep the funds otherwise. If he is not using all funds all the time, and he is not buying gsec, wouldn’t those funds stay in bank account? So having gsec is same as keeping money in bank.
So irrespective of whether funds are utilised for trading, buying gsec and pledging is better than keep it in bank account or trading account.
Two alternatives.
Uses money for trading, money is kept in bank or trading account when not used.
Buys gsec and pledges. Gets 90
Percent funds.
Now for each of the alternative trading decision is irrelevant. And alternative 2 is always better than alternative one, unless he can generate more than 60 percent returns from trading.
In this way of accounting,
the “60% returns” threshold isn’t a given all the time though, right?
The 60% returns assumes that only 10 (out of 100) is idle.
Whenever that is not the case,
whether due to the market
or one’s inability to find suitable opportunities to deploy margin (from pledging)
this 60% threshold to beat drops down.
However, there is the minimum guaranteed baseline ~6% even in the “worst-case”
even when the entire margin remains undeployed.
This is usually higher than S.B. Interest on most (all?) 3-in-1 accounts.
Also, the other pattern of intermittent/sporadic investing is supported by a 3-in-1account.
eg. Sniping GSEC/SDL/TBills at double-digit returns on NSE/BSE whenever they appear from time to time. (where AFAIK margin from pledged securities cannot be used)
Agreed the 2 are not exactly the same,
just the similar pattern of receiving a smaller passive-income
while one goes about one’s primary mode of trading/investing.
It is all the time when you compare the two alternatives. Two alternatives are
Trades using cash
Trades using pledged margin.
Then it is 60 percent of the funds blocked by second alternative.
Other things are not relevant for this decision making.
I am just countering this statement of yours.
For a trader, using margin from pledged securities is always wiser than using cash as long as his returns from trading is not more than 60 percent per annum. (Remember to keep all other factors constant)
If you still do not agree, then I will give a numerical example in the next post.
Ah i see where we are talking past each other.
when i made the initial comparison,
i wasn’t thinking of purely a trading-only scenario.
In Investing,
sporadic investing from a 3-in-1 account,
while constantly drawing baseline returns of S.B.Interest,
reminded me of the similar pattern
in Trading,
of trading on margins from pledging GSECs,
while constantly drawing baseline returns of GSEC interest.
(am not thinking that the returns are similar in these 2 cases. no, not that at all.)
Oh yes, when you get some time,
please do share a numerical example to drive home the point
and take this branch of discussion to its logical conclusion.
i.e. to illustrate that for a trading-only scenario (not sporadic investmenting)
how the pledged-GSEC is a dominant strategy that always wins against a 3-in-1 account. (i still wonder whether it holds true if the SB-interest is close to or more than the GSEC interest. While there are SB accounts that offer such high interest, am not sure if there are any 3-in-1 accounts that offers such high interest-rates.)
About this -
Assuming that,
For a 100% trader, a pledged-GSECs + trading on margin offers better returns
For a 100% investor (who has no use for margin), a 3-in-1 account offers better returns
I am still curious about the operating point(s)
for X% part trader + (100-X)% part investor
i.e. in between being a fully active-trader and a full-passive investor
does a 3-in-1 account offer better returns vs. a pledge-GSEC-and-trade-on-margin approach?
(just a theoretical curiosity at this point.
Am not sure if its worth the complexity to follow/deploy such a mixed approach in practice. )
Excuse me to interfere , in 3-in-1 account how much interest will be paid ? it will be on yearly basis that too of 3.5% per year where as Gsecs are giving double that of SB ( not FD) +
The potential for better returns for an investor from a 3-in-1 account
that is being referred to above,
is due to the liquidity afforded by
having cash lying in the 3-in-1-account
ready to be deployed instantly whenever an investment opportunity arises.
Well If a person is having very low capital , its beneficial , otherwise 3-in-1 account yield is peanut ,i had a 3-in1 account , One of Portfolio manager , who is known to me , they don;t keep idle cash in 3-in1 account , but they will keep it in some MF & in GSecs ,
this 
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