Overview

• A 27-year-old Maheshwaram resident responded to an Instagram ad promising high stock market returns and invested funds from a recent land sale.
• Scammers added him to WhatsApp groups and convinced him to deposit Rs1.12 crore on a fake platform showing a notional profit of Rs3.66 crore.
• Over 26 transactions in a month, the victim wired money to different beneficiary accounts at the scammers’ instruction.
• When he sought to withdraw, he was hit with bogus money laundering fees and threatened with daily interest penalties.
• Cybercrime DCP S.V. Naga Lakshmi confirmed the case registration and that inquiries are underway to follow the funds as part of a wider crackdown on online fraud.