Hyderabad: Cyber fraudsters dupe elderly man of Rs 19 lakh in online share trading

An 80-year-old man from Tolichowki lost Rs 19.9 lakh in an online stock trading scam after clicking a fake link embedded in a bogus article. The scam involved false promises of high returns. Cybercrime police are investigating the incident

Hyderabad: An 80-year-old man from the city was duped to the tune of over Rs 19 lakh in an online share trading scam after allegedly clicking on a misleading link embedded in a fake news article.

The incident occurred on July 18, when the elderly man from Tolichowki, while browsing, came across an interview allegedly broadcast by a digital Tamil channel.

The programme featured a person identified as “Saadu Sadguru,” who claimed to be earning substantial profits through online stock market investments. The article also contained a link encouraging readers to invest and earn similar returns.

After clicking the link, the victim was contacted by a caller who identified himself as Saim, an accounts manager from a company. The caller convinced the victim to invest in stock trading by promising high returns.

Trusting the seemingly legitimate offer, the senior citizen transferred a total of Rs 19.9 lakh in multiple transactions.

Later, Saim demanded an additional Rs 10 lakh, claiming it was necessary to release the profits of around Rs 80 lakh. When the victim declined to pay further, he was told bluntly that he would lose his previous investment.

A complaint has been filed, and Cybercrime police are investigating.