Two Hyderabad Residents Duped of ₹1.58 Crore in Online Stock Fraud Schemes

The Hyderabad Cyber Crime police registered two separate FIRs on Thursday after two city residents from Sultan Shahi and Saidabad were duped of a combined ₹1.58 crore in online stock investment frauds operated via Telegram groups and fraudulent trading platforms.

In the first case, a 36-year-old businessman residing in Sultan Shahi reported that he was lured into a fraudulent investment scheme after clicking on a WhatsApp message link. The link redirected him to a Telegram group where an individual identifying himself as Arvind posed as a stock investment adviser and promised returns ranging between 15% and 20%.

Convinced by the scheme, the businessman initially transferred ₹15 lakh to a bank account specified by the fraudster on May 16. Over the subsequent weeks, he made further transfers, ultimately investing a total of ₹86.5 lakh through the same channel.

When the victim attempted to withdraw his funds, the accused demanded an additional payment of ₹16.5 lakh to release his money. Realising he had been defrauded, the complainant approached the Hyderabad Cyber Crime police on Thursday. Investigators booked a case under Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act alongside Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

In the second incident, a 56-year-old woman from Saidabad fell victim to a scam after encountering an advertisement on Facebook. The advertisement featured a fake video of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promoting an online stock trading platform.

Upon clicking the link in the advertisement, the complainant was added directly to a Telegram group managed by fraudsters identifying themselves as Srinivas and Balaji, leading to her financial loss.