Hyderabad: In probably the biggest cyber fraud in the history of Telangana, cyber criminals have duped a Hyderabad-based doctor of Rs 8.6 crore in as many as 63 installments on the pretext of share trading, police said.
The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) has started an investigation based on the complaint filed by the victim on the 12th of this month.
The Modus Operandi
In his complaint lodged with the Cyber Police, the doctor said that he was browsing his Facebook account on May 21 when he came across an advertisement in the name of stock broking companies. He applied for the stock broking and submitted his credentials. Immediately, some persons contacted the doctor on WhatsApp claiming to be the representatives of those companies and his phone number was included in 4 groups, he said. The doctor said that the fraudsters posed as facilitating investors' profits and acting as sub-brokers on behalf of leading companies.
When the doctor asked about the identity of regulatory bodies like NSE and BSE and tax registrations about those institutions, the fraudsters said that those cannot be disclosed as such details are confidential.
Initial Profits To Gain Trust
The doctor said that the fraudsters sent him app links in the name of four organisations and he transferred the money to the bank accounts mentioned in them. Allowing the doctor to withdraw the initial profits to gain his trust, he went on investing money multiple times. After paying a total of Rs.8.6 crores, when he tried to withdraw the profits, the true colors of the cyber criminals came out as they told the doctor that he could withdraw only if he paid 20-30% of the profits. After trying to speak to customer care, he realized that he had been cheated and complained to TGCSB.
It is learnt that the doctor invested in multiple installments including Rs 23.56 lakh, Rs 3 lakh, Rs 68 lakh and Rs 17.10 lakh chunks with the total duped amount summing up to Rs 8,60,38,022 from May 21 to 8 Aug.
'Mule' Account In Veenavanka Too
Those who hand over the bank accounts of gullible people to cybercriminals hoping for a commission are called 'money mules' in police terminology. The criminals transferred the money from the doctor to mule accounts. When TGCSB police examined the accounts in which money was transferred in 63 installments, it was found that they are located across the country. It is noteworthy that one account is in Veenavanka Bank of Karimnagar district. Other accounts are in Visakhapatnam, Kadapa, Mumbai, Delhi, Thane, Chennai, Lucknow, Jhansi, Indore, Ludhiana and some parts of Haryana as per police. Further investigation into the fraud is going on.
