Hyderabad: Retired banker loses ₹51L in fake pre-IPO investment scam
A retired banker in Hyderabad lost ₹51.20 lakh after falling for a fake pre-IPO investment offer he spotted on Facebook.
The scammers, posing as IIFL Capital, added him to a WhatsApp group and used convincing screenshots of profits and IPO allotments to gain his trust.
How the scam worked—and what happened next
Starting with just ₹8,000, the victim kept investing more as he saw his supposed portfolio grow on a bogus website—even showing fake shares like Groww and Tennind.
When he tried to withdraw his "earnings," the scammers demanded another ₹51.23 lakh as a release fee, finally exposing the fraud.
He reported it to Cyberabad Cybercrime Police in November. Police are now investigating and reminding everyone: always double-check financial offers through official sites, avoid sketchy links, and report online scams at 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.