A 56-year-old doctor in Hyderabad has allegedly been cheated of Rs 1.21 crore after cybercriminals used a manipulated video of a Union minister to advertise a fraudulent investment scheme promising unusually high returns.
The fraud began on August 11, when the doctor encountered the advertisement on Facebook. The video reportedly promoted an investment of Rs 22,000 in exchange for daily earnings of Rs 80,000. Attracted by the promise, he registered through the advertisement.
Soon afterwards, several individuals contacted him, posing as representatives of different online trading platforms. They allegedly convinced him to invest in foreign exchange (forex) trading, assuring him of significant profits. The callers also shared links to five investment applications, which the doctor installed on his device.
According to a complaint lodged with the Malkajgiri cybercrime police, the victim carried out 51 transactions between August 11 and October 9. He transferred more than Rs 1.21 crore from two bank accounts to multiple UPI IDs and bank accounts, The Siasat Daily reported.
The fraudsters allegedly continued displaying profits in his digital wallets to encourage further investments. However, when the doctor attempted to withdraw his accumulated balance, he discovered that the funds were inaccessible.
He subsequently contacted the national cybercrime helpline 1930 on October 27 and filed a formal complaint with the Malkajgiri cybercrime unit on October 29.
Police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including cheating, criminal breach of trust, impersonation and forgery, along with Sections 66-C and 66-D of the Information Technology Act.
Investigators are examining the financial transactions, bank accounts, applications and identities of the suspects.
