Hyderabad senior citizen duped of ₹50 lakh in stock scam via WhatsApp

Police said the scam began with the victim joining a ‘Stock Discussion Group’ on WhatsApp

A 63-year-old man from Hyderabad fell victim to a stock trading scam orchestrated through WhatsApp. The victim, lured by the promise of substantial profits, lost ₹50 lakh to the fraud, said Hyderabad cyber crimes police.

Police said the scam began with the victim joining a ‘Stock Discussion Group’ on WhatsApp, where one Kunal Singh, claiming to be a renowned financial expert, was promoting online classes. “The group touted Singh’s 2022 classes as highly successful, citing a remarkable 500% return on a stock. Intrigued by the claims, the victim enrolled in the group and attended online classes conducted through a specific link,” said police.

The victim was directed to invest through Skyrim Capital, a fraudulent platform. “Despite initial small profits, the scammers eventually convinced him to deposit ₹50 lakh, and provided different beneficiary names and bank accounts for each transaction,” added police.

Realising he had been duped, the victim filed an online complaint against the fraudsters. People can report cybercrime fraud by dialling 1930 or by visiting cybercrime.gov.in.

Published - November 05, 2024 08:07 am IST