Hyderabad: Three individuals were arrested by the Cyber Crime Police of Central Crime Station (CCS), for cheating a resident of Hyderabad out of Rs 44,04,753 through a trading advice scam.
The accused, all hailing from Maharashtra, have been identified as Milind Manohar Narkar, 34, Ranak Jagadish Patel, 31 and Salik Imtiyaz Ahmed Siddiqui, 25.
The accused established contact with the victim by introducing themselves as trading advisors from ‘Aveshta Study Group-W’ and lured him in with promises of lucrative investment returns.
Then they coerced the victim into transferring funds into designated bank accounts. However, when the victim attempted to withdraw his accumulated profits, he was informed that he would have to pay a 20 pc ‘service charge’ on the profit upfront.
The fraudsters assured the victim that he would be able to withdraw both the initial investment and the accrued profits after payment of the fee.
Police also found that the accused had been working for a cyber fraudster operating from Dubai. According to the police, Milind used to convert the money obtained through cyber fraud into cryptocurrency and also managed multiple bank accounts used in the fraud.
Furthermore, Milind has also been found exchanging cryptocurrency in seven other states of India, indicating widespread operations.
Advisory to public
Hyderabad police have advised the public to exercise caution when coming across online stock trading advice and offers promising huge returns in the short term.
Scammers approach their victims through various social media platforms by advertising fake investment apps/websites. The public has been advised to verify such offers before sharing financial or personal details.
Fraudsters may use fake SEBI certification documents or screenshots showing fake profits to deceive gullible investors.
Victims of cybercrime can reach out to the police using the 1930 helpline or visit their official website.
