Hyderabad man held for Rs 47 lakh online fraud | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: The cyber wing of the state crime branch on Tuesday arrested a man from Hyderabad for allegedly defrauding a 66-year-old man of Rs 47 lakh through a deceitful online investment scheme.The accused, Syad Iqbal Hussain (45), who runs a catering business in Hyderabad, had received the majority of the defrauded amount in his bank account.According to police, the victim, a retired private company executive, came across an investment opportunity advertised on a social media platform in Jan 2024. After expressing interest, he was added to a group on an instant messaging app by an unknown person. The fraudsters initially convinced him to make small investments, which appeared to yield high returns, gradually building his confidence. He was then persuaded to invest larger sums.Between Jan and May 2024, the victim invested a total of Rs 47 lakh without verifying the authenticity of the platform. He had been promised returns exceeding Rs 1 crore within two to three weeks. The scammers displayed artificially inflated values of his investments via a fake e-wallet. When he attempted to withdraw his funds, they demanded additional deposits. Despite complying, he was unable to access his money.Realising he had been duped, the victim lodged a complaint at the Cyber Police Station on May 21, 2024. An investigation was launched, and the accused was tracked down through digital forensics and surveillance.“Our investigation revealed the involvement of a gang of scammers linked to a larger interstate cybercrime organisation. They were primarily involved in setting up mule bank accounts to receive funds from victims. Some also created fake social media profiles to lure targets. Hussain is one of their members,” a senior crime branch official said.Police said efforts are on to trace the masterminds, who are suspected to be operating from a foreign country. “We are trying to identify the key orchestrators abroad. Several accounts with substantial deposits have been frozen. Multiple phones, debit cards, cheque books, and SIM cards have also been seized,” the official added.
