HYDERABAD: In two separate incidents, residents lost more than Rs 49 lakh in online investment frauds.
In the first case, a 57-year-old man from Himayathnagar was duped of Rs 6.32 lakh by an online platform, NFM Capital Markets. An agent named Amrutha Reddy, who contacted him via Facebook and WhatsApp, lured him into investing in ‘US Gold Stocks’ using a fake trading dashboard showing fabricated profits.
The victim transferred Rs 6.32 lakh through Google Pay and SBI YONO, believing his fake wallet balance of USD 38,694.94 (Rs 34. 34 lakh) was genuine. When the fraudsters demanded additional money for ‘taxes’ and ‘withdrawal charges’, even threatening legal action, he realised the scam and alerted the authorities, leading to partial fund recovery.
In the second case, a 63-year-old investor was cheated of over Rs 43 lakh by scammers posing as representatives of “AXIS Security”, claiming association with Axis Bank. They promised IPO allotments and trading benefits under the Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) quota, showing fake dashboards and offering more shares than his balance allowed. When they demanded repayment for the ‘non-interest loan’, he discovered the fraud and lodged a complaint.
Based on the complaints, Hyderabad cyber crime police registered cases and launched an investigation.
Businesswoman loses Rs 17 lakh after installing malicious app
A 37-year-old businesswoman from the city lost Rs 17 lakh after unknowingly installing a malicious application on her phone. The fraudsters also took loans in her name and transferred the money to their accounts.
The victim told police that she received multiple SMS alerts between September 18 and 26 about unauthorised transactions Rs 4 lakh from her current account and Rs 13.98 lakh from her savings account. Of this, one transaction of Rs 49,998 was later reversed. On approaching her bank, she was informed that fraudsters had accessed her credentials and availed loans — a Jumbo Loan of Rs 5 lakh and an Insta Loan of Rs 1.45 lakh — using her savings account.
A technical analysis of her phone by the police revealed that two malicious apps, RTOCHALLAN.APK and UNI0NBANK4.APK, had been installed, allowing the fraudsters to intercept OTPs and execute unauthorised withdrawals and loan transactions.
A case has been registered and investigation is underway.