Hyderabad: Government employee loses Rs 2.22 crore in fake online investment scam

A government employee from Hyderabad’s Sanathnagar lost Rs 2.22 crore in a cyber fraud after investing through a fake online platform advertised on social media. Fraudsters displayed fictitious profits and later demanded additional payments before the victim approached police.

Hyderabad: A government employee from Sanathnagar fell victim to a cyber fraud and lost Rs. 2.22 crore after being lured into a fake online investment scheme promoted through social media advertisements.

According to police, the victim came across investment-related advertisements on Facebook that promised high returns.

---

After expressing interest, he was contacted by fraudsters who convinced him to join investment platforms and added him to several WhatsApp groups that he believed to be managed by financial experts and market analysts.

The cyber criminals gained the victim’s confidence and persuaded him to invest large sums of money in stages. Believing the scheme to be genuine, the government employee transferred a total of Rs. 2.22 crore to various bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.

The scammers displayed a balance of nearly Rs. 3.1 crore on a fake investment application’s dashboard, making the victim believe that his investments had generated huge profits.
However, when he attempted to withdraw the amount, the fraudsters demanded additional payments in the name of taxes, processing fees and other charges.

The victim realized he was duped and approached the police who registered a case.