A case has been registered with the Hyderabad cyber crime unit. Investigations are underway.
Hyderabad: A 40-year-old man from Yousufguda lost Rs.29 lakh to a fake online IPO investment fraud on Saturday. According to Hyderabad cyber crime police, the victim was contacted through Facebook and later added to a WhatsApp group. With over 200 members, the group appeared genuine, convincing him to invest. The bank accounts provided were also shown as linked to SEBI-registered entities.
To gain his trust, scammers initially displayed fake profits on the platform before persuading him to invest further, including shares worth Rs.25 lakh. When he attempted to withdraw funds, he was asked to first pay an 18 per cent fee (Rs.3.11 lakh), followed by a demand for an additional 20 per cent tax.
The victim was shown a balance of Rs.42,86,947 on a fraudulent trading app but was never allowed to withdraw money. “They even threatened to divert the money to charity if he failed to meet their demands, which stopped him from taking immediate action,” an official said.
A case has been registered with the Hyderabad cyber crime unit. Investigations are underway.
