Hyderabad news: Retired principal loses ₹8.1 crore in elaborate scam involving fake trading apps, IPO investments

Hyderabad news: In a cautionary tale of being ever vigilant towards scamsters, a retired engineering college principal from Hyderabad has lost ₹8.1 crore in an elaborate cyber fraud scam, as per a Times of India report.

A resident of the city's Banjara Hills neighbourhood, 59-year-old Chennupati Vijayakumar, lodged a complaint with the Telangana State Cyber Security Bureau on October 21. He detailed a fraud scheme "involving fake stock apps and misleading IPO allotments" that began in July 2024, it added.

Vijayakumar reportedly financed these “investments” using his life savings and loans from relatives. The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau has registered a case under the BNSS and IT Act and is investigating, the report said.

The news has made waves on social media, especially in the investment and trading spaces. Notable investor Ajay Bagga also shared it with his followers on X (formerly known as Twitter), saying, “Please read this and share with all family/ friends . Don’t fall for these scams. Very sad to see the plight of a retired person. Engg college ex-principal loses ₹8.1 cr to investment fraud.” (sic)

What Happened?

Vijayakumar said he was contacted in July 2024 by a woman named Melanie Lyons, claiming to be from SIG Group. She invited him to join a WhatsApp group called 'SIG Trading', where he attended online trading sessions taught by Eric Robertson and Lyons. It is here that they shared trade and market updates and convinced Vijayakumar to also invest, the report said.

As per the complaint, on July 15, he was told to join another WhatsApp group called ‘E26-RK Global Customer Care', where he received advice on trades and IPO suggestions through the 'RK Global' app. Vijayakumar said they assured him of high returns and promised to secure allotments in future IPOs.

Between July 16 and October 3, Vijayakumar transferred more than ₹8.1 crore through the fraudulent app. As per the complaint, he first succeeded in withdrawing ₹2,000 from the app, but attempts to remove larger amounts only showed as “successful” without the amount reaching his bank account, it said.

The fraudsters told him to pay 2 per cent of the app balance — ₹37.5 crore — of which he paid ₹7.5 lakh in multiple transactions. He was then asked to deposit ₹2 crore for "irregularities" and pressured into paying ₹75 lakh, as per the report. However, the withdrawal feature continued to malfunction and demands for deposits continued, and he began suspecting fraud, it added. He called the cyber crime helpline on October 18.