11 Held in Cybercrime Drive; ₹43 Lakh Returned to Victims

Hyderabad: Malkajgiri cyber crime police said they detected seven cases during the week with the arrest of 11 people, mostly from the city, and supervised the return of money amounting to ₹43,21,017 to the victims. The accused were involved in fake digital arrest, betting and investment fraud cases where they duped their victims of around Rs 4 million. According to the press release, all of them were detained.

Among those arrested were Koppala Sampath Kumar and Gundaboina Varun from the city, who impersonated TRAI, Mumbai police and CBI officials and placed a senior citizen and his wife under fake ‘digital arrest’. They falsely accuse him of illegal mobile number use, Aadhaar misuse, human trafficking and working without permission. They terrorized the couple with fake FIRs, arrest warrants and fake bank accounts backed by alleged Supreme Court notifications via WhatsApp video.

Sampath Kumar and Varun allegedly threatened to arrest the couple, forced them into secrecy and took their bank details under duress. They forced the couple to pay ₹ 2.8 lakh before the victims were rescued by well-wishers, the statement said.

In another case, Malkajgiri cyber crime police said they arrested Sachin Dilip Daiya, Sanala Brahmendra Chary and B. Pavan Kumar from Rajendranagar, both residents of ECIL, for their alleged involvement in online gaming/betting scam. Police said they collected around ₹ 23.63 crore through bank transfers and cash by providing multiple betting IDs, encouraging continuous betting and restricting withdrawals.

In a separate case, police arrested Amara Ram of Malkagiri for luring a victim into a fake investment scheme and duping her of Rs 20 lakh.

Potnuru Pavanesh of AP was arrested for similarly cheating a victim of ₹76,78,000. Mohd Abbas of Bahadurpura, who duped a victim of ₹5,61,000 in an online investment scam, was also arrested.

Malkajgiri teams arrested Rushikesh Dattatrey Patil from Maharashtra for duping a victim of ₹2,36,40,000 after promising him tips to invest profitably in the stock market.

In another investment scam case, police arrested Nivruti Namdev Pawar for allegedly encouraging a victim in the city to install a trading app, showing fake profits and duping her of ₹62,09,770.

Retired Engineer Loses ₹1.18 Crore Life Savings in Stock Market Scam

A 75-year-old retired employee lost ₹1.18 crore, which he believed he had invested in the stock market, but was stolen by cybercriminals. The victim, who earned this amount while working, approached the Cyberabad cybercrime police.

Police said the victim was a retired electrical engineer from Kondapur. Last December 16, his mobile number was added to a WhatsApp group, where members started sending messages about stock trading and huge profits. One Sneha Sharma asked him to deposit money and provided a link.

He transferred various sums of money to individual bank accounts provided to him. The amount transferred upon application was reflected in the transaction account. He tried to withdraw his money on January 28, but could not withdraw it. Scammers started asking him for various amounts under different headings. When he finally couldn’t withdraw the money, he contacted the police.

Four Technicians Lost ₹1.2 Crore in Stock Exchange Scams in Cyberabad

According to the complaint filed with the Cyberabad police, four IT employees in different cases were duped of 1.2 billion rupees by fraudsters who gave false assurances that the money was deposited in exchanges.

In one case, a software employee invested ₹12 lakh following claims made in an advertisement on social media. When the gang wanted to withdraw the amount, they asked for a 20 percent commission.

Separately, a 32-year-old techie invested ₹46 lakh in a fake stock market trading company after being persuaded by a woman claiming to be Krithika Reddy, who called him from a UK mobile number.

A 37-year-old IT employee told police that he was asked to invest in stock markets through an app bearing the name of a multinational company. The fraudsters collected ₹22 lakh from the victim.

In the fourth case, a 29-year-old IT worker lost ₹39 lakh. The victim contacted the traitors through social media. The defendant then persuaded him to invest in the trading market. Trusting the accused, the victim transferred ₹39 lakh from their account but could not get the money back.

Doctor cheated out of 43 Lakh rupees: ‘Analyst’ on WhatsApp lures victim into fake investment

A cyber crime gang duped the 38-year-old doctor, a consultant anesthesiologist, of ₹43 lakh on the pretext of investing in the stock market. Cyberabad cyber crime police registered a case and launched an investigation.

The doctor received a message on WhatsApp and joined the group captured by a private bank. He was persuaded by a woman who pretended to be a group analyst and persuaded him to deposit money. It all started with the first transfer of ₹100. When it showed profit, he started investing in stages until he paid ₹43 lakh.

The complainant stated that the last transaction was made on January 27. When he tried to withdraw his deposit and profit, he was asked to pay only 20 percent commission. All withdrawal options in the app have been disabled.