Two minutes.

$3.1 million.

One dollar stock.

Stockal US stock loss: how ₹100 crore of blue-chip holdings was allegedly sold off without consent

Nearly 30 Indian investors say their Apple-, Tesla- and Nvidia-type holdings were sold and swapped into a thinly traded Chinese stock. Here is what is known, what is disputed, and what every overseas investor should do this week.

WHEN 15 October 2026, during US trading hours

WHO Nearly 30 Indian investors on the Stockal platform (parent: Borderless)

WHAT Large US holdings sold; proceeds put into Zhibao Technology (Nasdaq: ZBAO)

LOSS Over ₹100 crore alleged by investors; preliminary and unverified

STATUS Responsibility disputed. FIR in Bengaluru; complaints to SEBI and the US SEC. No regulatory finding yet.

JUMP TO

01 WHAT HAPPENED     02 TWO MINUTES     03 TIMELINE

04 WHO IS RESPONSIBLE     05 WHY ZBAO     06 PROTECT YOURSELF

07 FAQ     08 BIGGER LESSON

01  ——

What happened to Stockal investors on 15 October?

Investors who buy US stocks through Indian apps are used to checking their portfolios and finding them where they left them. On 15 October, nearly 30 users of Stockal, the Bengaluru-based platform run by Borderless, say they found something else entirely.

Large, well-known US holdings had been sold. In their place sat big positions in one obscure name: Zhibao Technology, a Nasdaq-listed Chinese digital insurance brokerage trading as ZBAO at roughly one dollar a share. The investors say they gave no instruction, and received no alert or verification prompt.

The stock then fell about 60%, to around 42 cents by 23 October. The investors put their combined loss at more than ₹100 crore. That number is a preliminary estimate from the investors themselves and has not been independently verified.

Short on time? Jump straight to how to protect your US stock account or the frequently asked questions.

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02  ——

How was a $3.1 million portfolio sold in two minutes?

₹100 crore

ALLEGED COMBINED LOSS  ·  PRELIMINARY, UNVERIFIED

The most striking account comes from one investor who says his portfolio, worth about $3.1 million or roughly ₹29 crore, was liquidated within two minutes. By his account, the proceeds were then used to buy about 3.05 million shares of the same thinly traded stock within 15 minutes.

Years of careful compounding, undone in less time than it takes to make tea.

Another investor reports that proceeds bought 300,000 Zhibao shares at an average price near $1.05. The pattern is consistent: deep, liquid holdings out, a tiny and illiquid name in.

Why does that matter? In a thinly traded stock, a large buy order can push the price on its own, and once that buying stops there are few natural buyers left. A holder of millions of shares cannot easily sell without driving the price down.

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03  ——

Timeline of the Stockal unauthorised trades

15 OCT During US market hours, blue-chip holdings in a number of Stockal accounts are sold and the proceeds used to buy Zhibao Technology (ZBAO).

16 OCT (IST) US custody partner DriveWealth notifies Borderless of unauthorised trading in 13 customer accounts. Access is restricted soon after.

18 OCT Borderless contacts at least one affected investor and acknowledges suspicious activity, according to that investor.

23 OCT Zhibao shares are down about 60% from the roughly $1 level, near $0.42.

30 OCT DriveWealth reportedly writes to an investor that the unauthorised access came through the investor’s interface with Stockal, not its own systems.

4 NOV Borderless issues a public statement: an unauthorised third party appears to have accessed 26 accounts using valid login credentials; no breach of its infrastructure found; no funds withdrawn; extra authentication added. FIRs and SEBI complaints are filed by investors.

4 NOV HDFC Securities says its operational tie-up with Stockal ended in July 2024 and that it is not named in the FIR.

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04  ——

Stockal vs DriveWealth: who is responsible?

As of today, nobody has been found responsible. Each link in the chain is pointing away from itself.

Borderless (Stockal).  Says its own infrastructure was not breached, points to valid credentials being used by an unauthorised party, and says independent cybersecurity specialists are investigating. It says help offered to investors is not an admission of liability.

DriveWealth.  The US broker and custodian says it has no customer-facing trading app, that the activity occurred on Stockal’s interface, and that it froze the affected accounts on Stockal’s instructions.

The legal picture.  FIRs filed in Bengaluru name Stockal Securities, the Borderless entities and DriveWealth. Reports differ on whether HDFC Securities is named. Investors have also approached SEBI and the US SEC.

The regulatory gap.  SEBI registration of an Indian intermediary does not automatically extend to every action of its foreign partner. That cross-border gap is the heart of the story.

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05  ——

Why Zhibao Technology (ZBAO)?

Zhibao Technology provides digital insurance brokerage services in China and listed on Nasdaq in 2024, raising about $6 million in its IPO. It is a small company with modest trading volume, which is exactly why the choice of this stock puzzles investors.

Large stocks are hard to move; tiny ones are not. Whether the trades were meant to benefit someone on the other side is not established, and reports note that investigators have not confirmed any such link. What can be said is that the swap turned easily sold holdings into a position that lost most of its value within days.

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06  ——

How to protect your US stock investments from unauthorised trades

If you hold US stocks through any Indian app, a few minutes of housekeeping today is worth more than any research report you read this month.

Lock the door twice.  Turn on multi-factor authentication, use a password you use nowhere else, and treat any request for a login code as hostile.

Ask for alerts.  Switch on trade confirmations by SMS and email, and read them. A sale you did not make should reach you in seconds.

Know your chain.  Find out which entity holds your shares, who the US broker is, and what protections apply if unauthorised trades occur. Get it in writing.

Review weekly.  Open your holdings at least once a week. An unfamiliar ticker, especially a tiny one, is a red flag.

Act fast.  Contact your platform and its custodian at once, report to the police or the national cybercrime helpline 1930, and file a complaint on SEBI’s SCORES portal against a SEBI-registered intermediary. Keep every screenshot, statement and email.

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07  ——

Frequently asked questions

What is the Stockal unauthorised trades case?

Nearly 30 Indian investors allege that US stocks in their Stockal accounts were sold on 15 October 2026 without consent and the proceeds used to buy Zhibao Technology (ZBAO), which then fell about 60%.

How much did investors lose?

Investors estimate more than ₹100 crore combined. The figure is preliminary and has not been independently verified.

Has anyone been found responsible?

No. Borderless and DriveWealth each dispute responsibility, and no regulatory finding of fraud or liability has been reported.

Where can affected investors complain?

Start with the platform, then SEBI’s SCORES portal against a SEBI-registered intermediary, the police and the 1930 cybercrime helpline. Some investors have also approached the US SEC.

Are US stocks bought through an app safe?

The case does not prove that all such platforms are unsafe, but it shows why account security, alerts and a clear understanding of who holds your shares matter.

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08  ——

The bigger lesson for Indian investors

Low-friction investing is one of the best things to happen to Indian savers. A few taps now buy a slice of the world’s best companies. But the ease that lets a purchase happen in seconds can let a sale happen in seconds too.

Convenience is a feature. Verification is the safety.

Whatever the final findings, look past the interface and ask who holds your assets, who guards your login, and who answers when something breaks. Costs and clarity matter as well. To think further about how and where you invest, explore ideas at Brokerage Free Investments.

This story is still developing and will be updated as the investigation and any regulatory findings emerge.

This article reports allegations that have not been proven. It is for information only and is not investment, legal or tax advice.

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