The last few months have seen a huge rise in online fraud cases, where fraudsters are stealing money from people by luring them with high returns. These fraudsters are adding naive people by creating fake groups on messaging platforms like WhatsApp and telling them tricks to earn more money through investments. Many people have fallen prey to these frauds and lost their savings. Recently, a 43-year-old woman from Manikonda in Hyderabad was duped at about Rs 15 lakh. The fraudsters cheated the woman by posing as SBI Securities officials.
What is the whole matter?
According to the Times of India report, the victim received a message on WhatsApp in August, advertising the 'SBI Securities International Account'. Seeing the name of SBI, the victim showed interest after which she was added to a WhatsApp group named 'SBI Securities Group'.
The fraudsters, posing as SBI officials, asked her to download an app called 'SBI-INT', which was presented as an official SBI trading platform. The fraudsters got the woman to invest in IPOs, upper circuit stocks, and block trades through the app, promising high returns. The victim initially invested a small amount and then seeing the profit potential, she invested more money and gradually transferred multiple deposits to the app's wallet.
Fraud Exposed
However, when the victim attempted to withdraw her profits and initial investment, the fraudsters demanded an additional Rs 22 lakh from her in the name of 'tax'. The victim came to her senses after this demand. By then, she had lost about Rs 15 lakh and got back only a meager amount of Rs 25,000. Following this, a case has been registered with the Cyberabad Cyber Crime Police and the officials have started investigating the incident.
Measures to avoid such fraud
To avoid such frauds, people are advised to check the authenticity of any unsolicited investment. Especially when unusually high returns are being promised. It is also important to check the authenticity of any contact and platform used. Do not download any unknown apps.
