Hyderabadi loses Rs 1.22 crore in trading fraud; one held

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Cyber Crimes Unit apprehended an accused who was involved in trading fraud and was found to be involved in 23 cases across India.

The accused was identified as Ankit Arora (38), a private employee and a native of Uttar Pradesh.

The police seized a mobile phone, two SIM cards, one passbook and 11 debit cards of different bank accounts from the possession of the accused.

Brief facts of the case:

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crimes) D Kavitha said that a complaint was received from a Secunderabad resident, stating that the cyber fraudsters contacted him through telegram ID: Doll6726@ Navyaand and persuaded him to invest by offering free trading tips to buy and sell stocks.

After a few days, the cyber fraudsters redirected him to trading applications provided by the fraudsters for further guidance in trading and earning huge profits. The complainant believed them and transferred an amount of Rs 1.22 crore.

Later, as the overall amount deposited with the profits displayed in the wallet was enormous, he made demands for further withdrawals, which they refused for various reasons. Indeed, they asked him to deposit further with a warning that, on refusal, all communication would cease, and the user ID would be blocked.

In this regard, a case was registered U/Sec 66 C, D IT Act-2008 and Sec 384, 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC of PS Cyber Crimes, Hyderabad, the DCP said.

Modus Operandi

Elaborating further, Kavitha said that Ankit Arora is an account holder and account supplier. He supplied three bank accounts to the absconding accused, Deepak Kumar, a native of Uttar Pradesh, on a commission basis. As per the NCRP data, it is found that the accused was involved in 23 cases all over India and an amount of Rs. 6 crore transactions were carried out through his account.

The accused persons formed an organized group and cheated the innocent people on the pretext of providing trading tips. Deepak Kumar is absconding (Thailand) LOC will be initiated, the DCP said.

Public Advisory:

• Beware! Fake investment social media groups i.e. Telegram, WhatsApp, X, Instagram, and Facebook are popping up everywhere promising high returns with little risk.
• Never believe the promises of huge returns and fake profit screenshots.
• Don't fall for these scams! Always use SEBI - approved apps for investment and look for SEBI registered financial advisors before investing.
• Scammers will credit a small amount in the victim's account to gain the victim's confidence and allow withdrawal amount as well.
• Victims of cybercrime fraud can immediately dial 1930 or visit cybercrime.gov.in