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

Hyderabad: The Malkajgiri cybercrime police said that they had detected seven cases over the week with the arrest of 11 persons, many of them from the city, and oversaw the return of ₹43,21,017 to their victims. The accused were involved in fake digital arrest, betting and investment fraud cases where they had cheated their victims of nearly ₹4 crore. All of them were remanded to custody, according to a press release.Among the arrested were Koppala Sampath Kumar and Gundaboina Varun from the city who had placed a senior citizen and his wife under fake ‘digital arrest’ by impersonating officials of the TRAI, Mumbai police and CBI. They falsely accusing him of illegal mobile number use, Aadhaar misuse, human trafficking, and operating unauthorised. They terrorised the couple with fake bank accounts, backed by fake FIRs, warrants and alleged Supreme Court notices over WhatsApp video.Sampath Kumar and Varun allegedly threatened the couple with arrest, coerced them to secrecy and extracted bank details under duress. They forced the couple to pay out ₹2.8 lakh before the victims were rescued by well-wishers, the release said.In another case, the Malkajgiri cybercrime police said they arrested Sachin Dilip Daiya of Rajendranagar, Sanala Brahmendra Chary and B. Pavan Kumar, both residents of ECIL, for alleged involvement in online gaming/betting fraud. They had collected about ₹23.63 crore through bank transfers and cash by issuing multiple betting IDs, inducing continuous betting and restricting withdrawals, police said.In a separate case, the police arrested Amara Ram of Malkagiri for luring a victim into a fake investment scheme and duping her of `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 online investment fraud was also arrested.The Malkajgiri teams arrested Rushikesh Dattatrey Patil from Maharashtra for duping a victim of ₹2,36,40,000 after promising tips to profitably invest in the stock market.In another case of investment fraud, the police arrested Nivruti Namdev Pawar for allegedly inducing a city-based victim to install a trading app, showing fake profits and duping him of ₹62,09,770.Retired Engineer Loses ₹1.18 Crore Life Savings in Stock Market ScamA 75-year-old retired employee lost ₹1.18 crore that he believed he had invested in the stock market but had been filched by cybercriminals. The victim, who had earned the amount while working, has approached the Cyberabad cybercrime police.Police said the victim was a retired electrical engineer from Kondapur. On December 16 last, his mobile number was added to a WhatsApp group wherein the members started sending messages related to stock trading and huge profits. He was asked by one Sneha Sharma to invest money and provided a link.He transferred various sums of money to the individual bank accounts provided to him. The transferred amount was shown as credited in his trading account on the application. He tried to withdraw his funds on January 28 but was unable to withdraw do so. The scamsters started asking him for various sums under different heads. When he was finally unable to withdraw the money, he approached the police.Four Techies Lose ₹1.2 Crore to Stock Market Scams in CyberabadFour IT employees in separate cases were cheated of ₹1.2 crore by scamsters who falsely assured them that the money was being invested in the stock markets, according to a complaint lodged with the Cyberabad police.In one case, a software employee invested ₹12 lakh following claims made in an advertisement on social media. When he wanted to withdraw the sum, the gang asked for 20 per cent commission.Separately, a 32 year-old techie invested ₹46 lakh in a fake share 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 the police that he was asked to invest in the stock markets via an app named after an MNC. The scamsters collected ₹22 lakh from the victim.In the fourth case, a 29- year-old IT employee, lost ₹39 lakh. The victim came into contact with the miscreants through social media. Later, the accused lured him to invest into the trade market. Trusting the accused, the victim transferred ₹39 lakh from his accounts but could not get the money back.Doctor Duped of ₹43 Lakh: ‘Analyst’ on WhatsApp Lures Victim into Fake InvestmentA cybercrime gang cheated a 38-year-old doctor, a consultant anaesthesiologist, of ₹43 lakh on the pretext of investing in the stock market. The Cyberabad cybercrime police have registered a case and started a probe.The doctor received a message on WhatsApp and joined a group nabbed after a private bank. He was persuaded by a woman who pretended to be a group analyst and coaxed him to invest money. It all began with an initial transferr of ₹100. Shown profits, he started investing in phases, till he had paid ₹43 lakh.The complainant stated that the last transaction was made on January 27. When he attempted to withdraw his invested amount and profits but was asked to pay a 20 per cent commission. All withdrawal options in the application were disabled.



Source link