HYDERABAD: A 49-year-old Central government employee lost Rs 2.64 crore in an online investment fraud operated through WhatsApp groups and a fake trading platform posing as a legitimate securities firm.
The victim, a Commercial Taxes official and a resident of Nallakunta, was allegedly cheated by fraudsters who introduced themselves as stock market experts and representatives of a platform called “FARALLON” or “FARLLON CM Securities”.
The victim was added to a WhatsApp group in April, where members regularly shared screenshots of purported profits and testimonials praising the investment strategies of a person identifying himself as Jayesh Verma. The group allegedly promoted stock market trading, QIB investments and IPO opportunities, claiming investors could earn exceptionally high returns.
Believing the representations, the victim opened an account on the FARALLON platform and began investing from April 30. The complainant alleged that the platform showed substantial profits and account balances running into several crores of rupees, which increased his confidence and prompted him to invest more money and also invested around `58 lakh in the name of his wife.
However, when the victim attempted to withdraw the displayed profits, the fraudsters demanded additional payments towards taxes, surcharges and other charges. Despite paying these amounts, no withdrawals were processed. He later realised that he was cheated. He approached the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and lodged a formal complaint with Hyderabad Cyber Crime police.