Late CPI Leader's Wife Cheated Of Rs 10.91 Lakh By Cyber Criminals In Hyderabad

Hyderabad: BV Vijayalakshmi, the wife of late CPI leader Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy was cheated of Rs. 10.91 lakh by cyber criminals who lured her with a fake investment video circulated on social media in the name of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Following a complaint by the victim, a case has been registered by the Cyberabad Cybercrime Police. Vijayalakshmi (75), a retired bank employee, reportedly came across an advertisement on social media in December last year. The advertisement carried a purported video of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and claimed to be a lucrative investment opportunity under the supervision of SEBI.

The advertisement stated that a company named Quantapulse was offering trading services with the promise of high returns. Believing the claims to be genuine, Vijayalakshmi clicked on the link provided below the video. Vijayalakshmi was contacted on WhatsApp by a person who identified himself as Aditya Subramaniam and claimed to be a financial advisor. Acting on his instructions, Vijayalakshmi registered her personal details on a mobile application and paid Rs 13,000 as an entry fee.

On January 30, she transferred Rs 1.99 lakh as part of the investment. Subsequently, another person, identifying himself as Adam Smith from the United Kingdom, contacted her and claimed that USD 32,000 had been credited to her trading account. He asked her to share her State Bank of India account details for verification.

Later, she was asked to pay an additional Rs 1.80 lakh towards processing and verification charges. After some time, she was told that the transaction had been cancelled and was asked to resend the amount. In this manner, the fraudsters repeatedly demanded money on one pretext or another. Between January 30 and February 13, Vijayalakshmi ended up transferring a total of Rs. 10.91 lakh.

When the demands for money continued repeatedly, Vijayalakshmi realised that she was being cheated. She then approached the Cyberabad Cybercrime Police, which registered a case and launched an investigation.

Police officials said such scams are increasingly using deepfake videos and fake endorsements of well-known leaders and institutions to trap victims, particularly senior citizens. The police urged the public not to trust investment offers on social media and warned that neither the Finance Minister nor SEBI promotes investment schemes through online advertisements.

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