HYDERABAD: A 74-year-old retired University of Hyderabad (UoH) professor from Hyderguda lost Rs 3.26 crore after investing in a fake trading platform.
On August 9, 2025, a woman identifying herself as Kalki Rishitha Reddy contacted him on Facebook, claiming to be a CEO in tea trading and an expert in trading and mining. On August 22, she introduced him to an investment and mining platform and shared a registration link. Claiming to have recovered Rs 7 crore in cryptocurrency losses, she persuaded him to invest and guided him through account creation using her reference number.
She showed activity in his GBC account, indicating mining profits and even advised him to withdraw 100,000 dollars. However, he was repeatedly asked to pay various charges, including tax, PayPal processing, compliance and statutory fees. On March 16, 2026, he was asked to pay USD 8,000 as a final withdrawal authorisation fee. Growing suspicious, he realised he had been scammed after investing Rs 3.26 crore and approached TGCSB to lodge a complaint. A case has been registered and the probe is underway.