Manikonda resident duped of Rs. 4.7 crore in fake ICICI Securities scam; Cybercrime case filed
Hyderabad: The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau has registered a case against individuals falsely claiming to represent ICICI Securities, following a complaint involving a massive financial fraud of over ₹4.76 crore. The alleged scam targeted a man from Manikonda, Ranga Reddy district, who was misled into investing through a fake block trading scheme.
According to the FIR filed by V.V. Yaswanth Kumar Reddy, an accountant from Chintal, the fraud was committed against his uncle Raja Reddy. The victim was approached via WhatsApp on March 18, 2025, by a woman identifying herself as Vinita Patodia, who claimed to be a Group Assistant from “ICICI Securities Exchange.” She introduced him to a high-return “block trading” scheme, promising 100% to 300% returns on investments in shares and IPOs.
Soon after, another woman, Vinita Parekh, who presented herself as the assistant to Ashvin Parekh, allegedly the Head of ICICI Securities and a Board Member at ICICI Bank, shared download links for a trading app. When the links failed to work, alternate URLs were provided for iPhone users. The victim was added to a WhatsApp group named “H-1 ICICI Stock Exchange Group,” administered by Ashvin and Vinita Parekh, which included 95 members. The group appeared legitimate, with regular messages and no negative feedback.
Following instructions from the group admins, the victim contacted a customer support number through the app, which opened a WhatsApp chat. Through this chat, he was provided with multiple bank account numbers for transferring investment amounts. When he questioned why the accounts were not in ICICI’s name, he was shown forged certificates purportedly issued by SEBI, authorizing the use of third-party vendor accounts.
Between March 21 and April 24, 2025, the victim made 42 transactions totaling ₹4,76, 50,000 crore from his ICICI and SBI bank accounts to 14 different beneficiary accounts across various banks, including Central Bank of India, IDFC First Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, and Bandhan Bank.
The victim initially received small payouts totaling ₹1.5 lakh, which led him to believe the system was working. Encouraged by Ashvin Parekh through WhatsApp messages, he upgraded to several VIP investment plans, VIP4, VIP3, and VIP2, promising 300% to 800% returns within 30 to 60 days.
Throughout the period, the fraudsters changed the trading platforms’ web addresses multiple times, using URLs such as icicivuew.com, icicidro.com, iciciufs.com, and finally pyuert.com.
On April 24, 2025, when the victim attempted to withdraw ₹1 crore, he was denied access and shown a message citing “Withdrawal Refusal” due to unpaid 15% Short-Term Capital Gains (STCG) Tax. A fake tax invoice of ₹6.72 crore was issued, demanding payment before releasing the funds, which the victim refused. When he proposed partial withdrawal to pay the tax, the fraudsters declined.
Realizing the fraud, he contacted his auditor, who confirmed that the entire scheme was illegal. A formal complaint was lodged on the Cybercrime portal on April 25, 2025.
The case has been registered by K.V.M. Prasad, SHO of Cyber Crime Police Station Headquarters, TGCSB, Hyderabad, under Section 66-D of the IT Act and Sections 318(4), 319(2), and 338 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The investigation is being handled by Inspector D. Ashish Reddy.
