HYDERABAD: A serving Army major and a real estate businessman were cheated of Rs 1.75 crore in two separate online investment fraud cases reported in the Malkajgiri commissionerate.
The 40-year-old Army major from Trimulgherry said that in November 2025, he was added by an unknown person to a WhatsApp investment group titled ‘B105-Stocko Quantum Desk’, in which admins shared stock market and IPO tips. One of the members, Rakesh Kumar Jain, claimed to be a market analyst with South Asian Stock Ltd and introduced Swathi Verma as an investment coordinator.
Persuaded by assurances of high returns, the major was guided to download a mobile application and invest in IPOs and institutional trading. When he later tried to withdraw the amount, the transactions failed, and the account was frozen. He subsequently realised that he had been cheated of Rs 16.38 lakh and lodged a complaint with the cybercrime police.
In another case, a 37-year-old real estate businessman from Medipally said he came across a website, gbcx-coin.com, which claimed to help users make informed trading decisions. After registering, he was redirected to WhatsApp, where alleged customer support executives advised him on deposits and trading, frequently sharing screenshots showing profits.
He began trading in September 2025 with Rs 50,000, converted into USDT and was shown profits. Encouraged, he invested more. However, when he attempted to withdraw funds, the platform demanded payment of taxes and other charges but continued to block withdrawals. He later realised he had lost Rs 1,59,50,817 and filed a police complaint.
Malkajgiri cybercrime police registered cases and launched an investigation.
Social media influencer poses outside TTD to promote lottery, booked
Panjagutta police registered a case against two social media influencers for allegedly promoting illegal lottery schemes and fraudulent gambling activities under the guise of lucky draws.
The case was registered based on a complaint by Padala Kalyani alias Karate Kalyani, who alleged that Instagram accounts ‘@crazy_boy_narender2.o’ and ‘@praveen_kyasa’ were collecting money from the public through UPI transactions without government authorisation.
According to the complaint, a 22-year-old student, Pasham Mahesh Yadav, paid Rs 399 to one such Instagram channel. Police verification revealed that several people were being deceived by similar lottery-related posts and were losing money. One of the accused, Praveen Kyasa alias Praveen Anitha, allegedly organised a ‘Biggest Lucky Draw’, collecting `249 as entry fee from each participant.
Another accused, Siddhamoni Narender, is accused of shooting videos near the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam entrance to create false religious trust and lure people into illegal gambling. Police said the accused redirected victims to websites that prompted the download of harmful APK files, posing serious risks, including theft of OTPs, personal data and bank details, while collecting Rs 399 per participant.
Cases were registered under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Section 66D of the IT Act and Section 4(1)(h) of the TG Lotteries Act. Investigation is under way. It is to be noted that the TTD has already lodged complaints against the duo. TTD Vigilance sleuths gathered FIR copies and other details from Telangana police before filing the complaint.