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The Malkajgiri Police have arrested two persons, Roumya Ranjan Panda and Autukuri Santosh Kumar, in two separate investment fraud cases detected by the cyber crime wing during the week between May 3 and May 9. Panda, a resident of Odisha, was arrested for supplying bank accounts to cyber fraudsters, while Kumar, from Andhra Pradesh, was arrested for his involvement in a fake stock market investment scheme.
The first case involved a Bitcoin trading scam on hodlhodl.com and WhatsApp, where the victim was deceived into investing ₹9.28 lakh. The fraudsters later extorted more money from the victim using fake FIRs, court orders, and WhatsApp groups, resulting in a total loss of ₹34.48 lakh.
In the second case, the victim was added to WhatsApp groups operated by a person identified as Rakshita Ved, who shared stock market tips and fake profit screenshots to gain the victim's confidence. The victim was persuaded to install the "FISD PRO" application and complete KYC formalities, resulting in a loss of ₹41.56 lakh.
The cyber crime police have cautioned citizens against investment offers received through WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, and advised the public not to download or invest through unknown applications or websites. The police have also processed refunds amounting to ₹4.31 lakh through court orders and returned to victims during the week. The court will likely hear the cases in the coming days, with further investigations underway.