A 50-year-old doctor from Bazar Ghat in Hyderabad has fallen victim to a sophisticated cyber fraud, losing ₹1.76 crore after investing in stocks through a fake application. The fraudsters posed as stock market investment advisers and lured him with promises of high returns.
How the Scam Unfolded
The victim approached the Hyderabad Cyber Crime police on Thursday, recounting that in March 2026, he saw an Instagram advertisement promising handsome returns on stock market investments. After clicking on the ad, he was contacted on WhatsApp by a woman identifying herself as Pratima Bansal.
Bansal promised high returns and assured him that no charges would be levied until the client achieved a 200% profit. She stated that only upon securing a 200% profit would a 20% short-term capital gains tax apply for withdrawing the amount.
Installation of the Fake App
Bansal provided the victim with a link to install an app called ‘zanska-pro.top’. After PAN verification, he was given a trading account on the app. Following the fraudsters’ instructions, the victim continued transferring money, while the dashboard on the app showed a total balance of ₹14.08 crore.
Withdrawal Attempts and Further Demands
When the victim tried to withdraw the money, the fraudsters asked him to pay taxes, service fees, and verification charges to process the withdrawal. Despite paying all the fees, the withdrawal was not permitted, and they kept demanding more money. When he refused, the WhatsApp group and the app were shut down, and the fraudsters stopped responding to messages.
Financial Loss and Legal Action
The victim revealed that he had transferred more than ₹1.76 crore between March 27 and May 14 to various bank accounts provided by the accused via the app. Based on his complaint, a case was registered under Sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act, along with Sections 318(4) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 336(3) (forgery for cheating), and 340(2) (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the BNS.
Authorities urge the public to exercise caution when dealing with unsolicited investment offers and to verify the authenticity of any trading platform before investing.
