56-year-old Hyderabad doctor duped of Rs 1.21 crore in forex trading scam using fake video of Union minister | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: A 56-year-old doctor from Malkajgiri lost over Rs 1.21 crore to fraudsters in an online investment fraud.On the complaint of the victim, a cheating case was registered by Malkajgiri police.The complainant told police that on Aug 11, he saw an advertisement on Facebook in which a Union minister was promoting an investment scheme. The video promised a per-day return of Rs 80,000 on an investment of Rs 22,000.“As I clicked on the advertisement to register myself, I was contacted by different people claiming to represent five different online trading platforms. They persuaded me to invest in forex trading by promising substantial profits,” the victim told police.Believing their assurances, the doctor made 51 transactions to different UPI IDs and bank accounts between Aug 11 and Oct 9, from his two bank accounts. “I had installed five applications for investment from the weblinks provided by the fraudsters and transferred over Rs 1.21 crore. When I tried to withdraw the balance shown in the digital wallets, I was not allowed to do so,” the victim alleged.Realising he had been cheated, the doctor lodged a complaint with the national cybercrime helpline on Oct 27. On Thursday, he lodged a complaint with the Malkajgiri cybercrime police and a case was registered under sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), 318(4) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 66-C, 66-D of the Information Technology (IT) Act.Police said they are analysing the fraudulent transactions to identify and arrest the offenders.