Hyderabad doctor loses ₹14.6 crore in cyber fraud
HYDERABAD: A 44-year-old dentist from Hyderabad’s Erragadda lost ₹14.61 crore after a woman he met on Facebook allegedly lured him into investing in a fake trading platform, police said.
The woman, who introduced herself as Monika Madhav from Chennai, first contacted the doctor on Facebook on August 27. She later invited him to Telegram, where their conversations continued.
Woman promises high returns through online trading
During their chats, the woman told the doctor that she was married and was seeking a divorce, which she expected to receive soon. She also said she was a trader and earned between ₹4 lakh and ₹5 lakh a day.
She allegedly encouraged the doctor to trade with her, promising high returns. Trusting her, he agreed to the proposal.
On September 3, the doctor deposited ₹30 lakh on the trading platform suggested by her. The platform showed a profit of ₹8.6 lakh, and he successfully withdrew ₹85,000.
The withdrawal convinced the doctor that the platform was genuine.
The woman then proposed that they invest ₹10 crore together. The doctor agreed and began depositing money in instalments, using his own funds as well as borrowed money.
Fake platform shows ₹34 crore profit, blocks withdrawal
According to the complaint, the doctor deposited around ₹14.51 crore into the trading platform. The website showed a total profit of ₹34 crore.
When he tried to withdraw the money, the withdrawal option was closed. When he questioned the woman, she stopped responding and blocked his contacts.
The doctor then contacted the platform’s customer care. He was told that he had to pay ₹7.5 crore as tax before he could withdraw the money.
The doctor realised that he had been cheated and approached the cybercrime police. Police registered a case and began an investigation.
The complaint has brought to light a cyber fraud in which the victim lost ₹14.61 crore within about a month.
