Businesswoman Loses Rs 53 Lakh in Fake Trading

Hyderabad: A businesswoman was tricked into investing in fake trading schemes, resulting in a loss of Rs 53.2 lakh. The 41-year-old victim from Saroornagar got attracted by the claims of a man named Pranjal Kumar, made in a YouTube advertisement, to guide viewers through stock trading to make huge profits.

Believing the claims, she joined a WhatsApp group, where saw screenshots shared by group members who claimed they had won bonanzas through trading. A man named Keshav was also offering investment tips in the group. She started investing while one of the assistants, Riddhi, helped her throughout the transactions.

Riddhi suggested that she download an app for trading and sought the victim’s Aadhaar, PAN card, and phone number details. After the registration, the victim started investing, with amounts ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

She was later introduced to an "upgrade" scheme that promised to double her profits. Before registering for the upgrade, the victim requested a withdrawal, and Riddhi helped her withdraw Rs 2 lakh. She invested more, but received no further profits. When she questioned them regarding further withdrawals, there was no response.

The victim filed a complaint with the Rachakonda Cybercrime Wing, stating that she had invested Rs 55,25,000, but received only Rs 2 lakh in return. A case was registered under the IT Act in connection with the loss of Rs 53,25,000, and a probe was launched.