HYDERABAD: A technical officer from Khammam, currently serving in the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir, lost Rs 55 lakh to cybercriminals who lured him with promises of high returns on stock market investments.
While he lodged a complaint on Thursday, the cybercriminals first set a trap for the officer in January by sending him WhatsApp messages and luring him with promises of high returns on investments in an IPO. Initially, he ignored the messages, but as they persisted, he responded in February seeking further details.
On February 10, he was added to a WhatsApp group “BVIP29 BN Rathi Internal Group”. He searched for “BN Rathi Securities Ltd.” on Google and found a Hyderabad-based address along with contact numbers. Upon calling those numbers, the officer was informed that the company was legitimate and based in Hyderabad. He became convinced that the firm was genuine.
Funds transfer demands led to suspicion
The group administrator, pretended to be Hersh Tolani, a reputed SEBI Registered Investment Advisor, shared investment details and advised him on IPO opportunities. The officer was later directed to download a trading application, which he began using on March 10 to make investments.
On May 5, during what turned out to be the final transaction, Tolani asked him to transfer an additional Rs 3.8 lakh. The officer replied, asking Tolani to debit the amount from his BN Rathi account. When Tolani repeated the request multiple times, the officer grew suspicious. He contacted BN Rathi Securities again and was informed that the company did not operate any WhatsApp groups and that fraudsters had been misusing its name.
Only then did the officer realise he had been deceived.
Following his complaint, the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) and the Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS) of Khammam registered a case under Sections 61(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act.