Hyderabad: Three persons from Hyderabad were duped of Rs 1.6 crore in an investment scam. Cyberfraudsters lured them promising high returns.
The cybercrime unit registered three separate cases where the victims were approached through WhatsApp groups for stock trading , fake IPO and demand for fresh fees. Two of the victims are government employees and the other is a chartered accountant.
In the first case, a 39-year-old employee of the Defence electronic research laboratory (DLRL) from Kanchanbagh was added to a WhatsApp group titled ASBL Startup Excellence Circle in June this year. The group was operated by two persons identified as Abhishek and Abhijeet. The victim was convinced that he was buying pre-listing block deals, the government employee transferred Rs 54.6 lakh in installments.
When the victim sought withdrawal of money, the fraudsters asked for Rs 10 lakh to activate the high value withdrawal channel. Similarly, a 63-year-old chattered accountant from Old Malakpet filed a complaint after being duped of 43 lakh after he joined a WhatsApp group operated by fraudsters posing as representatives of a bank equity trading entity.
The accountant witnessed the investment grow to Rs 3.74 crore before realising that the fraudsters had no link with the bank. The same fraudsters duped a 58-yer-old government employee of Rs 69.9 lakh. The fraudsters offered a no interest loan to cover on over scribed IPO shares.
The victim was threatened by the fraudsters that his account wil be freezed if he fails to pay 10 percent management fee. Three cases have been registered under sections 66-C and 66-D of the IT Act for identity theft and cheating by impersonation.
