Hyderabad Techie Loses Rs 1.26 Cr to Investment Fraud

Hyderabad: Cyberabad cybercrime police registered a case after a 51-year-old software engineer from Chandanagar reported losing Rs.1.26 crore to fraudsters who posed as representatives of a global financial services firm and operated a forged trading portal.

Police said the complainant first received an invitation on September 16, through Telegram from a woman identifying herself as Bhagya Shree. He was asked to join the platform using an invitation code and was told that trading guidance would be provided by a person introduced as Prof. Gokul Laroia. Bhagya Shree said she was his assistant and directed him to operate an “AI quantification institutional account” through two WhatsApp groups. He opened an account using credentials sent to him.

He told police that for each transaction he was instructed to contact the customer service unit of the global firm. He was supplied bank account numbers for IMPS, NEFT and RTGS transfers. Over the next several weeks, he made several transactions to various beneficiary accounts, including two of Rs.30 lakh each.

He was told these transfers were mandatory to process a Rs.7 crore withdrawal. Daily trade instructions in the WhatsApp groups allegedly showed consistent profits, and his virtual balance on the portal appeared to rise to Rs.8.9 crore. He was later offered “discounted IPOs” in companies.

When he attempted to withdraw funds, he was added to a "VIP Core Group", where he was told to pay an "advance tax" of Rs.99,44,970, which the fraudsters claimed was required by SEBI and the income-tax department. When he said he was unable to arrange the amount, he was told that Rs.40 lakh could be arranged on his behalf if he paid a fee. He subsequently transferred another `60 lakh through RTGS transactions on November 10 and 11. Although he was assured that the withdrawal would be processed by 3.30 pm on November 13, no funds were received. When he contacted his bank, officials confirmed there were no technical issues. The group then demanded an additional Rs.10 lakh to "open a new transfer channel account".

After making independent checks, he realised that the portal displayed fabricated profits, including a virtual balance of Rs.9,13,84,922.94, and that no genuine trading had taken place. However, by then, he had already transferred Rs.1.26 crore.

He reached out to the Cyberabad cybercrime police and a case was registered. Further investigation into the incident is underway.