Scamsters scamming themselves

"Mumbai CA Ambar Dalal flees with crores of investors' money," said the typical headline. There was more detail on social media, where the victims started a group to coordinate their actions. The social media action in such cases may have been a new phenomenon, but the story is a very old one. An 'investment consultant' started managing people's money. For a while, he generated great returns in booming markets and paid back his clients, but when stock prices paused a bit, he stopped paying. Sometimes, they disappear, and sometimes, they confess. Some are caught, and some are not. However, the basic story is pretty similar. Mr Dalal is hardly the scale of Bernie Madoff - most reports say he managed around Rs 50 crore, although some quote figures like Rs 500 or 1,000 crore. However, this is the season for stock-related scams&mdas