INVESTMENT FRAUD CONTINUES INTO NEW YEAR; 12 PERSONS LOSE 1.5CR IN 48 HRS

Hyderabad: Investment fraud continues to be the main cause of financial loss among all cybercrimes, with 12 victims in the city reporting a loss of over 1.5 crore in 48 hours. Four others approached police and reported a loss of 36 lakh in part-time job fraud.

Two 48-year-old tech employees from Bandlaguda Jagir approached the Cyberabad cybercrime police after they found a fake trading platform, called FYERS DMA, through LinkedIn ads. They stated that they were guided by a fraudster posing as ‘Prof Gopal Kavalireddi' and a handler, ‘Naina Verma' to invest in stocks through the fake application.

Investigators said the duo persuaded investors to transfer money into a string of mule accounts, promising IPO allotments, block deals, and ‘upper-circuit' trades. The first victim lost 36.43 lakh between Oct 29 and Dec 10, while the second lost 27.98 lakh between Dec 4 and Dec 29.

In another incident, a 38-year-old businessman from Asif Nagar alleged that fraudsters running stock trading advisory groups on Facebook and WhatsApp coaxed him into installing an app named ADVPMA. They sent him screenshots of investments with soaring profits, believing which he transferred 27.05 lakh to 15 bank accounts between Dec 14 and Jan 7. He approached the Hyderabad cybercrime police when he realised he got duped.

In another case, a 39-year-old private worker from Malkajgiri lost 15.4 lakh between Jan 6 and 9 after he joined a fake trading app, Cboe Global Market, based on the advice of cyber fraudsters, and approached the Rachakonda police. Similarly, a 29-year-old civil engineer from Pragati Nagar lost around 12 lakh between Dec 17 and Jan 7 after he joined a fake stock trading app, GTS-C, based on the advice from a WhatsApp group admin.

Seven more complaints were received by the cybercrime police of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda between Jan 10 and 11, reporting losses ranging from 2.75 lakh to 10 lakh in stock trading fraud cases. The Rachakonda police also received four part-time job complaints over the weekend, when four victims reported a cumulative loss of 36 lakh. Police booked 16 cases under relevant sections of the BNS and the IT Act.