Cyber crime cops nab one in stock-trading fraud

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad cyber crime unit has apprehended a person, Pakeer Srinivas Reddy (41) of Tilaknagar, for stock-trading fraud. He was involved in five cases across the country.

According to the police, the complainant received a call from Tina Mittal claiming to be from W33Barclays, advising him to join a WhatsApp group for investment advice. He invested Rs 2,01,15,000 through a trading app. But when he tried to withdraw funds was asked to pay five per cent of the total deposit plus profit. He realised being cheated and filed a complaint with the cyber crime unit.

The police said fraudsters contact victims through social media platforms, Telegram apps, WhatsApp calls and messages, offering double or triple profits in a short time through stock market trading. They display huge returns in their applications initially, allowing withdrawals to a certain extent to build trust, proposing investments with promises of substantial profits.

They show virtual profits to lure the victims into investing more, blocking withdrawals once larger amounts are invested. The cyber crime police have advised citizens to protect themselves from cybercrime and financial fraud, be cautious of online stock-trading suggestions, investment frauds and offers like – huge returns in short term, multi-bagger stock suggestions, investment in IPOs and mutual funds.