A 42-year-old man from Hyderabad’s Langer House area tragically lost over ₹10 lakh in a sophisticated cyber fraud. The elaborate scheme began when he was befriended on Facebook by a woman who pretended to be a UK resident originally from Visakhapatnam.
The deception unfolded starting August 21, when the victim first received a message from the scammer, who called herself Sai Preethi. Over several weeks of seemingly friendly conversations, “Sai Preethi” convinced the man to invest in what she touted as a highly lucrative online trading platform. To build his confidence, she initially showed him small, fabricated returns in an online wallet after he transferred an initial ₹50,000. Lulled by these apparent profits, he continued to pour money into the scheme, transferring a total of ₹10,21,000 between September 1 and October 10 to various UPI IDs and bank accounts provided by the fraudster.
The alarm bells rang when the victim attempted to withdraw $14,000 from his supposed trading account, only to find the transaction was inexplicably blocked. The woman then insisted on further payments, falsely claiming these were necessary to cover “taxes.” It was at this critical point that the man finally realized he had fallen victim to a carefully orchestrated scam by cybercriminals masquerading as legitimate stock market investors.
In response to such growing incidents, law enforcement agencies are actively encouraging media outlets to broadcast public warnings, educating citizens about these dangerous scams. Cybercrime officials highlight a common tactic: fraudsters frequently set up fake profiles across social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Their goal is to cultivate trust with unsuspecting individuals before ensnaring them in deceptive online trading or investment schemes that promise unrealistic, high returns.
Authorities strongly caution the public against trusting strangers who claim to be from foreign countries or offer unsolicited investment advice. They also advise extreme vigilance: avoid clicking on suspicious links or downloading any trading applications shared via social media or WhatsApp. Crucially, never transfer money to unknown UPI IDs or bank accounts for any purported investment opportunities.