A 43-year-old private employee from Alwal, Hyderabad, lost more than Rs 70 lakh in an elaborate online trading scam after being lured by cyber fraudsters impersonating representatives of Zerodha, a legitimate stock trading platform, police officials said.
According to a report by The Times of India, the victim was first contacted via WhatsApp by individuals identifying themselves as Hanan Delvi and Ishita Paul. The fraudsters convinced him to install what they claimed was a Zerodha trading application through a shared web link.
Between April 30 and May 26, the victim made a series of bank transfers totalling Rs 72.55 lakh to various accounts provided by the scammers, believing he was investing in legitimate stock market trades.
False profits and tax trap
To build trust, the fraudsters initially credited Rs 1.73 lakh to the victim’s account on May 14, claiming it was his trading profit. However, when the victim later attempted to withdraw Rs 15 lakh, he was told that his account had accumulated Rs 2.19 crore in profits, but to access it, he would have to pay Rs 43.93 lakh as a ‘tax payment’.