Educational
Stockal Alleged Fraud: What Happened and How to Keep Your US Stocks Safe
Imagine opening your app and finding that your Apple, Tesla and Nvidia shares are gone. You did not sell them. This is what nearly 30 Indian investors allege happened on Stockal Securities, a Bengaluru-based platform that lets Indians buy US stocks and ETFs. The matter is under investigation, and every claim below is an allegation or a company statement, not a proven fact.
What is being reported
Nearly 30 retail investors allege that their US holdings were sold without their consent and that they lost more than ₹100 crore in total.
Reports say the unauthorised activity happened in October 2026. Holdings in large US companies, such as Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia and AMD, were allegedly sold.
The sale money was allegedly used to buy a thinly traded Chinese stock, Zhibao Technology (ZBAO). Reports say the stock later fell about 60%.
Investors have approached SEBI and the US SEC, and an FIR has been reported.
What each side says
Stockal's parent company, Borderless:
DriveWealth, the US broker that works with the platform, told it about unauthorised trading in 13 customer accounts.
An unauthorised third party appears to have accessed 26 accounts using valid login details. In 13 of these, large company holdings were sold to buy microcap shares, and no money was withdrawn.
It says its own investigation found no evidence of a breach of its platform. It has hired independent cybersecurity experts.
It believes affected customers may have been victims of "social engineering", meaning they were tricked into giving away their login details. It also says its help to customers is not an admission of liability.
DriveWealth:
In a letter dated 30 October to an affected investor, it said the unauthorised access happened in its connection with Stockal. It said the activity did not start at DriveWealth and that security failures on Stockal's side are Stockal's responsibility. It also said the accounts were frozen on Stockal's instruction.
Who is responsible?
This is not decided yet. Legal experts quoted by Business Standard said the answer depends on the role each company played in onboarding, login checks, passing orders, trading and holding the shares. They also said that saying "phishing" does not by itself clear a platform of blame. Another point: SEBI registration of the Indian platform does not automatically bring its overseas partner under Indian rules.
6 ways to keep your US stocks safer
Use a strong, unique password. Never reuse the password from your email or other apps.
Protect your email. Your email is the key to every account. Turn on two-step login for it.
Turn on every extra login check your platform offers, such as an authenticator app, instead of only SMS.
Never share OTPs, passwords or screens. No real support team will ask for them.
Turn on trade alerts by SMS and email, so you know about every sale straight away.
Know who holds your shares. Ask where your US stocks are held and who the broker is. Keep the platform's and broker's support contacts handy.
What to do if you see a trade you did not make
Act fast. Contact the platform and the broker at once, in writing, and ask them to freeze the account.
Save proof. Keep screenshots, emails, order details and contract notes.
Complain to the platform first. If it is not solved, you can file a complaint on SEBI's SCORES portal against a SEBI-registered platform. SEBI's SMART ODR is another option for conciliation or arbitration.
Change your passwords and check your email for forwarding rules or unknown logins.
What this case teaches
The lesson is not to stop investing abroad. It is to treat your account like your bank account. Check it often, secure your email first and learn who is responsible at each step. Be careful when large, well-known holdings are replaced with an unknown, thinly traded stock.
Note: This story is still developing. Details may change as the investigation continues.
Disclosure: This article is published by Kuberhunt for informational and educational purposes, drawing on third-party market analysis and publicly available brokerage, IMF, and Moody's research. Kuberhunt is a technology and research distribution platform connecting investors with SEBI-registered Research Analysts and Investment Advisors. Kuberhunt itself is not a Research Analyst or Investment Adviser and does not provide investment advice, create, or endorse any specific investment recommendation. This article does not constitute investment advice and should not be used as the basis for any trading decision. Cross-market return and earnings-growth figures are drawn from multiple secondary sources using different methodologies and time windows (calendar year vs. financial year, rupee vs. dollar terms); readers should treat comparisons as directional rather than precise and verify current figures independently before acting on them.
Sources: IANS (4 Nov 2026); Business Standard (4 Nov 2026); NewsBytes (4 Nov 2026); Moneycontrol report as cited by IANS and Business Standard.
Educational content, not investment advice. Markets carry risk; read the disclosures on any Reco before you act on it.