The Cyber Crime Branch of the Cyberabad Police has arrested four suspects running various financial scams in multiple states after busting three cases between November 6 and 11.
Police said three of the arrests were related to business fraud, while one involved a smishing (SMS phishing) operation. Five mobile phones, smart watches, SIM cards and other digital devices were seized in the raids.
The police also secured 42 refund orders in 26 cases worth ₹21,98,753, which will be returned to the victims as directed by the court.
Major cases included duping a private employee who lost ₹21,93,300 in a fake business scam through Telegram and WhatsApp groups. The victim was approached by a woman who identified herself as Ben Sasha, who lured him into using a fraudulent trading app and invited him to make test trades that showed artificially inflated profits. Once he gained trust, the fraudsters tricked him into depositing money into bank accounts they claimed were linked to a forex trading platform.
The victim initially received two small withdrawals of ₹5,000 each, which were used to build trust. He was then persuaded to invest larger sums and was shown fictitious profits running into millions of crowns. When he tried to withdraw the funds, he was forced to pay a number of fees, including a 30% tax, a security deposit and a conversion fee. He was later told that his CIBIL score was insufficient and asked to transfer another ₹15 lakh. When he disputed the claims, the suspects deleted his trading account and chat history, leaving him with a virtual balance that never existed.
Investigators confirmed that he transferred ₹21,93,300 from his bank accounts to several beneficiary accounts. The ₹90,000 transaction led police to two suspects, identified as Thummaluru Sudhakar Reddy and Thummaluru Raghunatha Reddy, who allegedly provided the bank accounts used in the fraud. They were arrested based on technical evidence and field verification.
Police in Cyberabad urged people not to trust unverified investment groups on WhatsApp or Telegram and avoid downloading business apps shared by unknown persons. Cops have advised citizens to check the platforms on SEBI’s website and report suspicious activity immediately to 1930 or the national cybercrime portal.
Published – 14 Nov 2025 20:57 IST
