Hundreds in Telangana cheated by investment scammers; police rope in filmstars, FM radios to create awareness

Hyderabad: A few months ago, J Santhosh (name changed), a native of Karimnagar received a WhatsApp message where cyber fraudsters asked him to invest Rs 1 lakh in robotic machines and make quick money of Rs 10,000 per month as rent.

Initially, Santosh did not take the message seriously. However, a few days later Santhosh's friend also received a similar message on WhatsApp about earning quick money by investing in robotic machines. The online fraudsters even shared a link to the mobile application.

Greedy to earn quick money, the duo installed the mobile application of FANUC company and invested Rs 1 lakh. After a few days, the duo came to know that they were duped by the online fraudsters.

“Initially, the online fraudsters credited Rs 30,000 each per month as rent into our bank accounts for Rs 1 lakh investment each. Trusting their commitment, we invested another Rs 50,000 each. Soon after receiving the investment in a mobile application, the online fraudsters stopped sending the rent amount to us. We came to Hyderabad and inquired about the company and realized that they looted us in the name of quick money on robotic machines,” Santosh said.

Santosh and his friend are not isolated cases. Several people from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were duped by the fake mobile application. With no option left, all of them knocked on the doors of Hyderabad’s Cyber Crime Police Station in Basheerbagh. All the victims appealed to the police to ensure that their invested amount was paid by the fake mobile application company.

Police said that the total scam was estimated at around Rs 500 crore. Due to a lack of awareness, a majority of victims approached the police after realizing that they were duped by the fake mobile application. Instead, it will be very helpful to trace the identity of online fraudsters if they lodged a complaint within an hour (Golden Hour) after the crime, the police said/

Police have launched an investigation.

What is the Golden Hour?

The golden hour is the first hour from the time the crime was committed. It is very crucial for reporting cyber financial fraud. Loading a complaint within the first 60 minutes significantly improves the victims’ chances of getting the lost money back.

Cyber Crime department receives 10-15 complaints per day

Speaking to NewsMeter, a senior police official on condition of anonymity said, “Daily the Hyderabad Cyber Crimes department receives at least 10-15 complaints. Around Rs 1 crore is swindled through scams like Telegram, FedEX, fake jobs, - countless excluding Cyberabad and Rachakonda Commissionerates complaints.”

Referring to the FedEx scam unearthed recently in Hyderabad, the official said that a team of police personnel went to Ahmedabad recently to identify the traces of the online fraudsters. He advised people not to accept Facebook friend requests from unknown individuals and open unwanted links shared on WhatsApp.

ED officials to share their expertise with Cyber Crime Police

About measures being taken by the Hyderabad Cyber Crime Department, the official said that they are working with various agencies to track the identity of the online fraudsters and their activities. In this regard, the department had sought the support of the Enforcement Department (ED) officials to speed up the investigation and focus on recovering the looted amount from the people on various social media platforms, he said.

Apart from that, the ED officials have also expressed their willingness to train the Cyber Crime Department officials on methods to be followed for the investigation especially related to the financial frauds and scams on social media platforms, he said. On measures being taken to sensitize the public about online scams, the officer said that only 10 percent of the victims after being duped by online fraudsters are approaching the police, while the remaining are not taking the issue before the police due to lack of awareness.

Film stars, FM radio campaign to sensitize people about online fraud

Taking serious note of the matter, the official said that the department had decided to rope in film stars and celebrities to carry out a campaign and make people aware of the online scams and financial frauds.

“We are in talks with the FM radio channels to publicize the online frauds and scams on social media platforms to sensitize the public. A proposal was also mooted with the traffic police to campaign against online fraud through their public address system near the traffic signals across Hyderabad. Hoardings will also be kept at major junctions of the city to intensify the awareness of online scams,” the official said.