HYDERABAD: A 59-year-old Banjara Hills resident reported a fraudulent transaction on his credit card worth approximately ₹2.5 lakh, while a 63-year-old retired employee from Nallakunta lost almost ₹30 lakh in an investment scam. In early November, Divya Mehra, posing as a representative of a securities firm, contacted the Nallakunta victim and added him to a WhatsApp trading group. In order to invest in shares, OTC trades, and initial public offerings (IPOs), she persuaded him to install a phony trading software and divulge bank and PAN information.
The victim sent substantial amounts of money from his and his wife’s accounts for the purported trade as per her instructions. Divya Mehra coerced him into making further investments, including purchasing a tech company’s initial public offering (IPO), by presenting him with fictitious high earnings. Despite the app displaying a balance of ₹64,00,000 and prohibiting withdrawals, the scammers stopped his trading account when he refused and demanded a penalty of ₹5,00,000 to “unfreeze” it. A total of ₹29.5 lakh was lost by the victim.
A 59-year-old Banjara Hills resident was another victim who reported a fraudulent credit card transaction. After two days of waiting for a courier delivery, he received an SMS on December 2 from an unknown number informing him that two delivery efforts had failed and asking for a ₹25 re-delivery fee via a given link. He clicked the link and provided his credit card information and OTP for the ₹25 payment since he thought the mail was authentic. However, ₹2,49,616 was taken out of his card without his consent. A case was opened when the victim complained to the Hyderabad cybercrime police.
Citizens were cautioned by cybercrime authorities not to join unsolicited trading groups on Telegram or WhatsApp that promised huge returns on shares, OTC trades, or initial public offerings. Always check the company, adviser, and investment platform on the official SEBI website before making an investment. Never give personal documents, PANs, or bank account information to unidentified individuals posing as investment advisers. Steer clear of downloading unreliable trading programs from strangers; scammers frequently fabricate platforms to display faked gains.
