Hyderabad: The Hyderabad cybercrime police arrested two people hailing from Maharashtra’s Pune district, in connection with an investment fraud.
The two accused – 26-year-old Reynold Vincent Cyril and 27-year-old Manish Dinesh Sonawane – are involved in 27 cases across India, including one in Telangana.
According to a police statement, the two accused contacted a 40-year-old resident of Hyderabad through Facebook Messenger. They introduced themselves as ‘Keerthi Raghuram’, a software engineer and an investor based in Dubai.
The victim was convinced to invest in stocks through a company called ‘Innobyt IT Solutions’ via websites: https://ctallnltd.com and https://ctallnent.com.
The victim was promised 70 percent profits in return. Believing ‘Keerthi Raghuram’, the victim invested a significant amount.
The victim was overjoyed to see his account with a profit of $71,281 (Rs 60,80,604). However, the withdrawal option was disabled. The victim found out he was required to pay additional tax and conversion fees.
The victim realised he had lost a total amount of Rs 17,39,000/-.
The matter was reported to the Hyderabad cybercrime team, who arrested Reynold and Manish.
Hyderabad resident duped of Rs 2 crore, Pune driver arrested
Modus Operandi of cybercriminals
The Hyderabad cybercrime team has released the modus operandi. Citizens should beware and report immediately if they are being duped.
- Social media platforms, Telegram app, WhatsApp calls and Messages.
- Offers of double or triple profits in a short time through stock market trading.
- They are displaying huge returns in their application initially.
- Allowing withdrawals to a certain extent builds trust.
- Proposing investments with promises of substantial profits.
- Showing virtual profits to lure victims into investing more.
- Blocking withdrawals once larger amounts are invested.
Avoid getting cyber-scammed by following simple rules
- The Hyderabad cybercrime team has also issued an advisory for the public interest. Here are a few important points to remember and avoid getting duped.
- Be cautious of online stock trading suggestions & investment frauds and offers like – huge returns in the short term, multi-bagger stock suggestions, investment in IPOs and Mutual Funds.
- Verify properly before accepting such offers and sharing your financial or personal details.
- Scammers approach victims through various social media platforms,ie, Telegram, WhatsApp, X, Instagram, and Facebook by advertising Fake investment apps/websites.
- Such schemes are fraudulent and do not have SEBI’s endorsement. Fraudsters are using simple tactics to lure gullible investors with promises of high returns and Fake profit screenshots.
- Nowadays, fraudsters are showing fake SEBI certification documents to mislead the innocent victims. Be cautious, verify thoroughly and think before you invest.
- Don’t be greedy.
