The victim from Nallakunta was contacted by one Divya Mehra, claiming to represent a securities firm and added him to a WhatsApp trading group in early November. She induced him to share bank and PAN details and install a fake trading app to invest in shares, OTC trades, and IPOs: Reports
HYDERABAD: A 63-year-old retired employee from Nallakunta lost nearly ₹30 lakh in an investment scam, while a 59-year-old resident of Banjara Hills reported a fraudulent transaction on his credit card worth around ₹2.5 lakh.
The victim from Nallakunta was contacted by one Divya Mehra, claiming to represent a securities firm and added him to a WhatsApp trading group in early November. She induced him to share bank and PAN details and install a fake trading app to invest in shares, OTC trades, and IPOs.
Following her instructions, the victim transferred large sums of funds from his and his wife’s account for the alleged trading. Divya Mehra manipulated him by showing fake high profits and pressured him to invest larger amounts, including forcing him to buy an IPO of a tech company.
When he refused, the fraudsters blocked his trading account and demanded a penalty of ₹5,00,000 to “unfreeze” it, despite the app showing a balance of ₹64,00,000 and no withdrawals were allowed. The victim suffered a total loss of ₹29.5 lakh.
Another victim, a 59-year-old resident of Banjara Hills, reported a fraudulent transaction on his credit card.
While expecting a courier delivery and following up for two days, he received an SMS on December 2 from an unknown number, stating that two delivery attempts had failed and requesting a ₹25 re-delivery charge through a provided link.
Believing the message to be genuine, he clicked the link and entered his credit card details and OTP for the ₹25 payment, after which ₹2,49,616 was deducted from his card without his authorisation. The victim lodged a complaint with the Hyderabad cybercrime police and a case was registered.
· Cybercrime police advised citizens not to join unsolicited WhatsApp or Telegram trading groups claiming high returns in shares, OTC trades, or IPOs.
· Before investing, always verify the investment platform, company, and adviser on the official SEBI website.
· Never share bank details, PAN, or personal documents with unknown persons posing as investment advisers.
· Avoid installing unverified trading apps sent by unknown individuals — fraudsters often create fake platforms to show manipulated profits.
