Cyber fraudsters duped a Maheshwaram resident with fake stock profits, using WhatsApp groups and bogus trading platforms to siphon funds from recent land sale.
Hyderabad: A 27-year-old man from Maheshwaram fell victim to an online trading scam, losing Rs 1.1 crore in a month to offers of increased profits. The victim used money recently received from the sale of family land in Maheshwaram. The Rachakonda cybercrime police have registered a case and initiated a probe, writing to 17 banks to trace the money trail.
According to the complaint, the victim saw an advertisement on Instagram in February, claiming huge returns through stock market trading. He signed up and was added to a WhatsApp group named after a prominent bank, where members flaunted trading profits — which police say were fabricated.
He was later added to a smaller group with just three members, who guided him in opening a trading account and instructed him on transferring funds. He was promised access to certain stocks.
“They sent a registration link and asked me to begin by depositing funds. I registered using my PAN card and transferred Rs 50,000. I saw a profit of Rs 3,000, which I didn’t withdraw. Trusting the process, I later deposited approximately Rs 1.9 lakh on March 6, for further trading. Each time, the beneficiary account details were different.”
The scammers convinced him to buy what they said were shares at discounted rates, promising returns of 150 per cent. He was persuaded to invest Rs 1.12 crore to purchase 1,39,200 shares, which showed a notional profit of Rs 3.66 crore on the fake platform. When he attempted to withdraw the amount, he was told to pay various charges, including fees under so-called “money laundering fund management regulations”. He was also threatened with a daily interest penalty if the charges were not paid.
Cybercrime DCP S.V. Naga Lakshmi said, “The scam began in mid-February and continued for over a month, involving 26 transactions. We have written to 17 banks seeking details of the accounts that received the funds.”
