Hyderabad: A 34-year-old techie from Golconda lost Rs 1.55 crore in a span of 20 days this month to fraudsters posing as stock-market investment advisors. On his complaint, Hyderabad cybercrime police booked a case on Wednesday and launched a probe.The complainant from Golconda said that on March 6, he was added to a WhatsApp group titled Nifty Storm 35 by an unknown person. “Members of the group kept sharing screenshots of profits they got by trading in stocks, and I was also encouraged by the fraudsters to download trading applications called Mark In and Mark CM,” the complainant told police.The victim installed the two apps by clicking on the links shared by the accused. Between March 6 and 23, he transferred Rs 1.55 crore to different bank accounts through the two apps in 21 transactions.Some of the recipient accounts belong to trading, security, garments and construction companies. After he transferred Rs 1.55 crore, the cumulative investment on the two apps was shown as Rs 2.4 crore. “I tried to withdraw the amount, and the fraudsters asked me to pay Rs 30 lakh tax. Suspecting that something was wrong, I refused to pay the amount and demanded that they return my entire investment. But my access to the apps was blocked, and I was removed from the WhatsApp group,” the victim said.On the victim’s complaint, Hyderabad cybercrime police registered a case under Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act and Sections 318(4) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 336(3) (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 340(2) (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on Wednesday evening.
