Fraudster Arrested For Investment Scam

Hyderabad: Cyberpolice arrested a fraudster, who duped a victim to the tune of ₹32 lakh, from his house in Mumbai. He was linked to a Chinese national, who is the kingpin of crypto fraud.

According to cybercrime DCP V. Arvind Babu, Ansari Mohammed Umar Murad alias Umar had cheated several people in online trading. “We received a complaint from a person who fell victim to an investment fraud.”

The victim said he clicked on the advertisement that purportedly claimed to be of the Aditya Birla Group. When he clicked on the advertisement, he was redirected to a WhatsApp group titled “Aditya Birla Stock Elite Group 678,” where a woman introducing herself as Aiyana Joseph claimed to be a trade adviser.

“She persuaded him to invest and shared a link to download a trading application. After he installed the app, the victim was instructed to submit KYC details and bank information, after which OTC stock trading and IPO applications were shown as activated,” Arvind Babu said.

The victim was later added to another WhatsApp group named “Aditya Birla High Net Worth IPO Exclusive Membership Group,” where the members were advised to invest in specific stocks and IPOs, with a promise of high returns and a demand for 20 per cent commission on profits, the DCP said.

Ansari provided multiple bank accounts for depositing funds into the fraudulent app, who showed to make substantial profits. When they asked them to deposit ₹1 crore, the victim refused, which resulted in the app getting stopped. When he realised that he had been duped of ₹32 lakh, he lodged a complaint with cybercrime, DCP said.

Ansari’s associates Rishi Thushar, Inamdar Vinayaka Rajendar — both from Vadodara in Gujarat — have also been arrested.

Ansari has good knowledge of cryptocurrency trading and he was in direct contact with a Chinese national and regularly communicated with him through Telegram.

As per the instructions of the Chinese national, Ansari and Rishi Thushar used to convert the cheated amounts from Indian Rupees (INR) into USDT and transfer the same to the wallet addresses provided by the Chinese national.

Accordingly, an amount of approximately ₹50 lakh was converted into USDT through their wallet IDs and crypto dealers and subsequently transferred to the wallets provided by the Chinese national, he added.

* Victims are lured through links circulated on social media platforms promising stock market advice, IPO tips, or high-return investment opportunities.

* They are invited to join WhatsApp groups that project themselves as expert investment or trading advisory groups.

* Fraudsters use fake websites and mobile applications to create an illusion of legitimacy and professionalism.

* The platforms falsely display continuously increasing profits to gain the victims’ trust and confidence.

* Victims are persuaded to deposit large amounts of money into bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.

* After substantial deposits are made, the withdrawal option on the platform is deliberately disabled.

* Victims are asked to pay additional charges such as taxes, service fees, or currency conversion fees to “release” the funds.

* The platforms are entirely fake, and the displayed profits are fictitious, resulting in total loss of the invested money.