HYDERABAD: A 55-year-old real estate businessman was cheated of Rs 4.87 crore in an investment fraud.
In his complaint to the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB), he said a woman named Mounica contacted him on WhatsApp about a plot in Hyderabad and introduced him to a trading website. After a demo, he invested Rs 50,000 and received 24% profit.
Convinced by her to invest bigger sums, he put in Rs 1.5 crore, and within a week the app showed profits of Rs 3.5 crore.
When he attempted to withdraw it, the portal demanded 30% tax on profits, for which he paid Rs 1.33 crore. He was later asked to pay Rs 1.8 lakh for a VIP account upgrade and another 15% for dollar-to-rupee conversion.
Believing the claims, he made multiple payments, eventually losing Rs 4.87 crore. Realising he was duped, he filed a complaint on the National Cyber Reporting Platform. The TGCSB registered a case under Section 66-D of the IT Act and Sections 318(4), 319(2), 338 of the BNS. Investigation is on.
Trading scam leaves man Rs 2 cr poorer
A 52-year-old businessman lost Rs 2.1 crore after being duped by fraudsters through a fake online trading platform. The victim came across a YouTube video promoting stock trading in July.
The video description carried links that redirected him to a WhatsApp group, where members induced him to register on an app, ‘360 One Asset Management’, claiming it was SEBI-registered.
Believing it to be legitimate, he downloaded the app and began trading on promoted stocks. Over time, he transferred Rs 2.14 crore into multiple accounts shared by group admins and persons posing as customer service staff.
While the platform once allowed him to withdraw Rs 3 lakh, the remaining Rs 2.1 crore was fraudulently withheld. When he tried to withdraw his funds, he was asked to pay additional charges, following which he realised he had been cheated.
Police registered a case under Sections 66-C and 66-D of the IT Act and 111(2)(b), 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 338 and 340(2) of the BNS.