According to the news reports, the victim came across the video advertisement on July 8, 2025, which appeared to show the finance minister endorsing an online trading platform identified as “S**e*a.” The advertisement promised unusually high returns through share trading and urged viewers to invest immediately. Believing the endorsement to be genuine, the retired doctor contacted the number displayed in the advertisement.
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Shortly thereafter, a man claiming to be the company’s manager reached out to her. He initially instructed her to deposit Rs 22,000 via a QR code to activate her trading account. Over the following months, he allegedly persuaded her to transfer larger amounts via RTGS to multiple bank accounts.
The victim, in 11 transactions, deposited amounts ranging between 75,000 and 20 lakh from her bank account, totalling 68.3 lakh between July and Dec 2025. "Each time I attempted to withdraw the displayed balance on the website, my request was rejected, and I was asked to invest more," the victim told police, reports TOI.
Realising she had been defrauded, the doctor contacted the national cyber-fraud helpline, 1930, and subsequently filed a formal complaint with the Hyderabad Cyber Crime police on Tuesday.
As per TOI, based on her complaint, police registered a case under Sections 66-C and 66-D of the Information Technology Act and Sections 111(2)(b) (organised crime), 318(4) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 336(3) (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 338 (Forgery of valuable security, will, etc) and 340(2) (Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
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Investigators revealed that the fraudsters operated through multiple bank accounts and used an international phone number with a +41 extension. Communication with the victim was conducted primarily via Zoom calls. A cybercrime official stated that they have the phone details, email address, and bank account particulars, and that they are analysing the money trail and the details of the account responsible for posting the fake video.
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