Hyderabad: A 36-year-old private employee from Hyderabad’s Alwal was duped of Rs 87 lakh in an online stock investment scam after fraudsters connected with him via WhatsApp.
The scam began in January 2026, when the victim was added to a WhatsApp group operated by a man identified as Kaustubh and his associates.
They used multiple mobile numbers to share stock market tips, IPO recommendations, and fabricated profit screenshots to gain credibility.
The victim was persuaded to download the EPQC App, which the fraudsters claimed is a genuine trading app. After the victim completed the registration, the fraudsters asked him to make an investment promising a major profit.
Believing the fraudsters, the man invested Rs 25,000 and received a profit of 1,000 initially. Following the initial profit, the fraudsters encouraged him to make more investments.
The victim transferred money multiple times and was shown increased profits, which were manipulated by the fraudsters. He was later tricked into investing in an IPO of Ashapura Minechem Limited using wallet funds on the app.
However, when the accused demanded additional charges to complete the IPO process, and he refused. When the victim attempted to withdraw his funds, the app stopped
Realising he had been cheated, the victim approached the Malkajgiri Cybercrime police. A case was registered under sections Sections 318(4) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 336(3) (forgery for purpose of cheating), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.) and 340(2) (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), read with 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66-D of the Information Technology Act, and investigation is underway.
