In what may turn out to be the biggest cyber financial fraud from an individual reported to Telangana's Cyber Security Bureau, a 75-year-old man has lost Rs 13 crore. The victim had retired as a senior manager of a public sector unit.
Sources said the man had reportedly received a proposal for investment through WhatsApp on July 1 and within 10 days, he had invested Rs 4 crore, lured by the impressive profits projected by the scammers.
When his account showed Rs 10 crore, he wanted to withdraw. Then he was told that he would need to pay GST, CGST, conversion tax, foreign exchange tax and so on, and he ended up paying up another Rs 9 crores within 15 days, hoping to recover his investment money and the "returns" he had made.
To make these investments, he had withdrawn money from mutual funds and other savings and transferred it through his own bank account.
It was only after about 50 days that he realised that he had been defrauded.
On Monday, he went to the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau to file a complaint.
But the delay in reporting the matter left little hope of recovery. Of the total Rs 13 crore that went out of his bank, the police was able to save only Rs 20 lakh.
The amount had been withdrawn through cheques, ATM cards and such from multiple accounts spread across states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala. Rs 2 crore was withdrawn from faraway Dubai..
The police are questioning a couple of people in Hyderabad, from where some money had been withdrawn as well.
