HYDERABAD: Cyber crime police on Tuesday apprehended a man from Uttar Pradesh for defrauding a Hyderabad resident of Rs 14.63 lakh.
The accused, Shiva Shankar, 27, is also involved in other cybercrime cases. According to the police, the victim, a 35-year-old private employee from the city, received a WhatsApp message offering online stock investment ideas for the stock market.
The fraudster provided a link to join a WhatsApp group, where he reportedly claimed to offer institutional stocks, OTC stocks and Samco group stocks, helping people accrue high profits in a short time.
Believing the claims, the victim transferred money from his accounts. The accused claimed his investments were in bulk stocks and IPOs, which would yield a huge profit on his invested capital. However, when he decided to withdraw his profits, he was told that the amount was still tied up in the IPOs. When he insisted on withdrawing his earnings, they demanded that he deposit an additional amount. The victim realised it was a scam and approached the authorities.