Hyderabad: A 56-year-old software consultant working for a multinational company lost 2.92 crore over two months from Feb 24 after being lured into investing through fake stock trading platforms. Based on his complaint, Malkajgiri police registered a cheating case on Thursday and launched a probe.In February, the victim from Ramanthapur was added to a WhatsApp group called ‘Riding the Wind Club Discussion Group’, where fraudsters posing as investment advisers shared stock tips and IPO offers. The group was managed by fraudsters identifying themselves as Anika Sharma and Chandraprakash using multiple mobile numbers. After initial small investments, the victim was shown fake profits in stocks and IPOs. Encouraged by the virtual profits, he joined VIP trading programmes that promised high returns and interest-free credit facilities.“When I tried to withdraw money, they blocked the transactions, claiming that the funds were locked due to loan repayment conditions,” the complainant said.
