A 60-year-old retired bank employee from Malakpet was duped of over ₹51 lakh after falling prey to a fake pre-IPO investment scheme promoted through a Facebook advertisement claiming as IIFL Capital.
In the first week of November 2025, the senior citizen responded to the ad and later received WhatsApp messages from a person identifying himself as Goshan Yadav, who promised guidance for profitable investments and IPO allotments.
He was added to a WhatsApp group named “IIFL CS Pre-IPO 067” – where members shared fabricated screenshots of profits and share allotments to build credibility. Initially convinced, the victim invested ₹8,000, but as the group continued to display manipulated gains, he eventually invested a total of ₹51,23,000 by November. Fake allotments of Groww and Tennind shares were displayed on a website, showing a misleading total value of ₹1.30 crore.
When he attempted to withdraw the funds, the fraudsters demanded an additional ₹51,23,000 to release the proceeds. Realising he had been deceived, the victim approached the police. A case has been booked by the cyber crimes wing of Hyderabad police.
Meanwhile, cybercrime officials advised people to verify financial services only through official websites, avoid clicking random links or downloading unknown apps, and report cyber frauds immediately via the 1930 helpline or www.cybercrime.gov.in.
Published – November 28, 2025 07:56 pm IST
