Hyderabad doctor duped of Rs 1.21 crore in forex trading scam

Trusting the fraudsters, the doctor made 51 transactions to different UPI IDs and bank accounts between August 11 and October 9, from his two bank accounts.

Hyderabad: A 56-year-old doctor from Hyderabad was duped of Rs 1.21 crore in a foreign exchange scam where a fake video of a Union minister was used by the fraudsters.

The victim filed a complaint with the Malkajgiri Police, alleging that on August 11 he had come across 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 the police.

Trusting the fraudsters, the doctor made 51 transactions to different UPI IDs and bank accounts between August 11 and October 9, from his two bank accounts.

The doctor had installed five applications for investment from the web links provided by the fraudsters and transferred over Rs 1.21 crore.

When he tried to withdraw the balance shown in the digital wallets, he alleged that he was not allowed to do so.

Realising he had been cheated, the doctor lodged a complaint with the national cybercrime helpline on October 27.

On October 29, the doctor filed a complaint with the Malkajgiri cybercrime unit.

Based on his complaint, the cybercrime police registered a case under Sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), 318(4) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), and 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 66-C and 66-D of the Information Technology (IT) Act. The investigation is underway.