HYDERABAD: A senior bank manager and his wife were duped of 66 lakh by fraudsters posing as representatives of stock market investment and trading firms. Between Feb and May, the victims transferred the funds to bank accounts specified by the fraudsters. Based on the banker’s complaint, a case was filed at the cyber security bureau’s Warangal police station on Friday.The senior manager, employed at a bank in Hanumakonda, alleged that cybercriminals posed as stock market brokers contacted his wife through Facebook advertisement and swindled 66 lakh.According to the complainant, his wife clicked on a post in late Jan purporting to represent two stock trading companies. This led to WhatsApp chats from various phone numbers, where fraudsters posing as executives of companies promised returns of 300% to 400% via block, IPO, and FoF tradings.Between Feb 3 and May 9, the victim made 45 transfers from her Central Bank of India and Bank of Baroda accounts, and from her husband’s Union Bank account. The couple transferred over 66 lakh, raised via gold loans, pledged insurance policies, and borrowings, after the fraudsters demanded a 15% service charge on purported profits of 3.38 crore.“When we arranged half fee, they promised to release half of profits but stopped responding once the money was credited. Trading apps and WhatsApp groups vanished,” complaint said. The banker submitted two online reports via national cybercrime portal on May 29 and June 11, before approaching Cyber Security Bureau on June 27.
