A 75-year-old woman from Bengaluru lost Rs 2 crore to a cyber scam after being tricked into investing in the stock market with promises of high returns. The fraud took place between December 9, 2024, and January 31.
When she later tried to withdraw her money, the scammers demanded a 15 per cent commission, which she also paid, but never received her funds.
How the scam happened
The victim, a resident of Cooke Town, filed a complaint with the East CEN Crime Police. She said she was deceived by two individuals, Girivasan Iyengar and Aisha Sithika, who pretended to be representatives of 'Hem Securities'. They convinced her to invest in online trading, promising guaranteed profits.
Over several conversations, Iyengar, Sithika, and a fake 'Hem Securities Customer Service' team persuaded her to transfer Rs 2 crore across different bank accounts. When she requested to withdraw her investment on January 31, they told her she needed to pay a 15 per cent commission and transaction fees, claiming she would receive her money within two days.
Trusting them, she transferred the additional amount but soon found that she could not reach them anymore. Realising she had been scammed, she reported the case to the cybercrime helpline (1930) on February 3 and submitted her payment receipts.
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However, in her panic, she mistakenly provided bank details of two unrelated individuals, which led to the freezing of three accounts. After she alerted the police, the authorities instructed banks to unfreeze the accounts of the innocent parties.
Police investigation and rising scams
A case has been registered under the Information Technology Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigations are ongoing to trace the fraudsters.
Bengaluru Police have been repeatedly warning residents to stay alert as investment scams are increasing rapidly. Several people have already lost crores of rupees to cybercriminals using similar tactics.
Also Read: CBI identifies 1.5L victims in Assam's 260 cr online scam
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