Khammam duo loses ₹2.33 crore in fake crypto, stock investment frauds
HYDERABAD: A businessman and a deputy manager of a private firm in Telangana’s Khammam were duped of ₹2.33 crore in separate cyber fraud cases involving fake cryptocurrency and stock market investment schemes.
In the first case, a 50-year-old businessman lost over ₹2.05 crore after being lured into a fraudulent forex and cryptocurrency trading platform.
According to his complaint to the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB), he received a WhatsApp message on November 25, 2025, from a woman identifying herself as Jessica Meenakshi. She claimed to work for a ceramics firm in Sharjah and run a family-owned crypto and forex trading business.
She persuaded him to open an account on a website, pc.fxprogroup.cc, promising high returns on investments.
The victim initially invested ₹50,000 on December 14, 2025, and received a profit of ₹4,800 the next day. Convinced the platform was genuine, he continued investing.
Between December 14, 2025, and January 21, 2026, he transferred over ₹1 crore through multiple transactions from four of his bank accounts and three belonging to friends.
When he attempted to withdraw an on-screen balance of $3,89,592 on January 21, the fraudsters demanded ₹64 lakh as income tax. He paid the amount by February 3.
On February 7, he was asked to pay ₹34.28 lakh as a currency exchange fee, which he paid. Later, the fraudsters demanded ₹51.42 lakh as a security deposit.
“I realised that it was a fraud. I lost over ₹2.05 crore,” the complainant said.
A case was registered at TGCSB’s Khammam unit on March 12.
Manager loses ₹33.5 lakh in stock trading scam
In the second case, a 57-year-old deputy manager of a private firm was duped of ₹33.5 lakh between May 26 and September 6, 2025.
The victim said he came across an advertisement promoting stock market investments, which featured a video of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman explaining the scheme’s benefits.
He was later contacted by tele-callers identifying themselves as Abdul and Arul. Following their instructions, he opened accounts on two websites and began transferring money from his bank accounts.
He invested over ₹33.5 lakh in multiple transactions. However, when he attempted to withdraw funds, his requests were initially withheld and later rejected. The websites eventually displayed negative balances.
