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Hyderabad: The Cyberabad police solved eight cases of cybercrime in a week and arrested 11 people in connection with these cases from February 20-26.

According to the police, nine of the accused were involved in online trading fraud.

Major trading app scam busted

In a major trading app scam, the Cyberabad police busted fraudsters who used social media advertisements through a forged “Monarch Finance” app falsely claiming association with Monarch Networth Capital, wherein the victim was lured via Instagram and induced to invest in fake institutional trades promising 300 per cent returns, resulting in a net loss of Rs 1,16,65,000.

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One of the victims who came across the advertisement on social media was added to a WhatsApp group by the fraudsters claiming to be market experts. A forged “Monarch Finance” app was shared via a Play Store link (now inactive) to simulate a legitimate trading platform. Fabricated screenshots of upper-circuit trades, block deals, and IPO allotments were displayed to gain the victim’s trust.

The victim was directed to deposit funds into multiple current accounts of shell entities, claiming they were institutional accounts. Initially, withdrawal of Rs 16,25,000 allowed to build confidence and lure the victim into making a larger investments.

Fake IPO allotments, including “Safecure Services Ltd,” were shown and additional funds were demanded for full subscription. A virtual balance of Rs 6.47 crores was displayed to depict extraordinary profits. On attempting withdrawal of Rs 2 Crores, a 20 percent commission was demanded as a precondition When the victim refused to do so, the withdrawal options were blocked.

The accused were identified as Arjun Kumar Sharma from Maharashtra was arrested for knowingly opening current bank accounts and providing full account access to cyber fraudsters for routing cheated amounts in return for commission.

During this time, the police also secured 564 court approvals for refund of Rs 1.62 crore to victims who lost the amount in 117 cases of cyber fraud.

The police urged citizens to report cases of cyber fraud on national cybercrime portal or dial 1930 to file complaints.