Retd employee lured into stocks, lost Rs 40 L

Hyderabad:A 61-year-old retired employee from Peerzadiguda, Uppal, complained to the Rachakonda cybercrime police that he had lost `40.87 lakh after being lured by promises of high returns.

According to the complaint, the victim received a message from an unknown number. The sender, identifying himself as Abhishek, claimed to be associated with a discount brokerage firm. He introduced himself as an associate of the firm’s principal analyst. Abhishek then started communicating and pitching stock market ideas to the victim.

Though the victim admitted having little knowledge of the stock market, Abhishek persuaded him to invest. He was given a link to create an account, after which he was asked to transfer `1 lakh, promising a return of `1.14 lakh. Initially, he did receive a `14,000 profit, which built his trust.

In the following two months, he was repeatedly pressured into investing, making eight transactions totaling `40.87 lakh. When he tried to withdraw the profits he saw on the live screen, it turned out to be fake. Whenever the victim tried to withdraw, he was asked to pay charges but was never allowed to withdraw.

Realising he had been scammed, the victim approached the Rachakonda police, who registered a case and launched an investigation into the bank accounts involved. The teams are into the bank accounts and check for further details.