80-Yr-Old In Hyderabad Loses Rs 35 L In Fake Trading App
Hyderabad: An 80-year-old retired employee from Madinaguda was duped of Rs 35 lakh by fraudsters operating a fake online trading platform. Cyberabad cyber crime police registered a case and launched an investigation.
According to the complaint filed on October 30, the victim, a resident of My Home Jewel in Miyapur, was added to a WhatsApp group by a woman identified as Manisha Gupta. The group claimed to assist investors in buying and selling stocks through the app, allegedly promoted by a man named Aarav Gupta posing as the “Chief Investment Officer.” Another member, Meena Joshi, guided the victim in creating her account and transferring money.
Believing the platform to be legitimate, the victim initially transferred 10,000 rupees from his bank account. Over the next few weeks, he made several deposits totaling Rs 35,00,500 as instructed. The group shared screenshots of “hefty profits” and assured him money could be withdrawn at any time.
However, when he later tried to withdraw his money, he was told to pay an additional Rs 7 lakh as “mandatory code fee”. After this, group members stopped responding and the trading app became inaccessible. Realizing that he had been cheated, the victim filed a complaint with the Cyberabad cybercrime police. A case has been registered under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2) read with Section 3(5) of the BNS and Section 66-D of the IT Act, 2000–2008. Police are tracking the suspects.
