Cyber fraudsters dupe city bizman of Rs 2.6 cr

Hyderabad: A 48-year-old businessman from Ameerpet was defrauded of ₹2.6 crore by cyber fraudsters who lured him with promises of high returns through stock market investments.
The businessman transferred the money to multiple bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. As their demands for additional payments continued, he grew suspicious and approached the Hyderabad cybercrime police station on Thursday, where a case was subsequently registered.
According to the complaint, the ordeal began on Feb 17 when the victim received a Facebook friend request from a woman named Madhavi Reddy. He accepted the request on Feb 22. Posing as a stock market advisor from Bengaluru, Madhavi initiated conversations via WhatsApp and persuaded him to register on a trading website.
"I started by investing small amounts. Between March 17 and April 7, I transferred amounts ranging from ₹4.5 lakh to ₹20 lakh to 26 different bank accounts provided by Madhavi, all under the pretext of stock market investments," the victim said.
During this period, he received two payments from the fraudsters—₹63,945 and ₹1.8 lakh on March 30—which were seemingly intended to build trust. Although his trading account reflected significant profits, he was unable to withdraw any substantial amount.
"I tried to withdraw the funds multiple times, but failed. When I contacted Madhavi, she told me I needed to pay additional amounts towards taxes and processing fees due to the high profits. That's when I realised I had been duped and decided to report the fraud to police," he added.
Based on his complaint, the cybercrime police registered a case under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act—66-C and 66-D—as well as under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Police are currently verifying bank transactions to trace the suspects and further investigate the case.