Hyderabad: The cybercrime sleuths arrested half a dozen people in connection with an Rs.1crore investment fraud case with Chinese national links. The Chinese national, who is absconding, is the prime accused in the case.
The arrested persons have been identified as Addulapuri Harsha Vardhan, Konduru Venu, Mylaram Pradeep, Pachipala Vinodh Yadav, Parasanaboina Vamshi and Mangali Laxman. Fifteen debit cards, three passbooks, eight mobile phones, a cheque book, a scanner and a fingerprint machine were seized from their possession.
A 34-year-old woman of Tarnaka was cheated through a well-planned cyber fraud between January 2025 and July 2025. Fraudsters, impersonating officials of National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) and Coin SSDCX via Instagram and Telegram groups, induced her to perform online tasks and invest through fake trading links.
Initially, small rewards were credited to gain her trust. Later, she was persuaded to transfer large amounts on the pretext of investments, tax clearance, and target approvals. In total, she transferred Rs.1.05 crore to various accounts as per their directions.
She later realized that the fraudsters cheated her to a tune of Rs.1.05 crore. Based on her complaint, the police registered a case under Section 66C and 66D IT Act, and other provisions of BNS and investigated the case.
Explaining the modus operandi of the accused, Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cybercrimes), Dara Kavitha, said the fraudsters contact victims through phone and other social media platforms like Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp and messages. Scammers pose as representatives of reputable companies and make WhatsApp and internet calls to contact victims. They use professional language and tone and even show fake profits to build trust with victims.
Fraudsters create fake investment profits on their website and application and other platforms to appear legitimate. Once the victim transfers the amount, the fraudsters block them, severing all communication.
Using account credentials and the crypto wallet in this case, the accused purchased a blockchain-enabled platform designed to facilitate the use of fiat currencies in a digital manner and transferred it to Chen Chen of China.
In return, Chen remitted commissions in rupees to Harsha Vardhan’s personal accounts. The investigation revealed that the arrested persons had procured more than 50 bank accounts, routed crores of rupees of cheated funds through them, and transferred the same to Chen abroad. Thus, all the seven accused, along with others, formed an organized cybercrime gang cheating innocent victims across India by impersonating reputed companies and luring them with false promises of high returns.
In a public advisory, the police said the fake investment frauds often appear as links or receiving calls through Whatsapp, Telegram messages, social media platforms, or fake company websites.
Victims may receive unsolicited calls, messages, or emails from scammers claiming to represent reputable companies. Scammers use professional language and tone even show fake profits to build trust with victims. They create fake investment profits on duplicate websites and apps and other portals to appear legitimate.
The public must be cautious of unsolicited calls and messages and they should be wary of unexpected investment offers or messages. Legitimate companies do not ask or approach directly to invest in their companies. The victims of cybercrime can get immediate help by dial 1930 or visit cybercrime.gov.in, the police said.
