Hyderabad: 63-year-old man loses Rs 43 lakh to cyber fraud

A 63-year-old man in Hyderabad lost Rs 43 lakh after fraudsters tricked him with fake IPO allotments and trading profits via WhatsApp. They used fake dashboards and threats to extract money. A police case has been registered and investigation is ongoing

Hyderabad: A 63-year-old man was duped of Rs 43 lakh on the pretext of online share trading in the city.

According to the police, the victim received a WhatsApp message from a person who claimed to be associated with a private financial institution and offered IPO allotments and trading opportunities.

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“The fraudsters regularly showed fake dashboards displaying profits and discounted share allotments, claiming the trades were under a Qualified Institutional Placement to the victim. To convince him to part with money, they allotted more shares than his balance, allowed labelling the difference as a non-interest loan, and then demanded repayment with threats to freeze his accounts,” said Hyderabad cybercrime police.

However, he man sensed suspicion and wanted to withdraw his money, but was not allowed to do so. He then realised that he was duped and approached the police, who registered a case and started an investigation.

The police appealed to the people not to fall prey to scamsters who pose as representatives of reputed financial institutions or trading firms.