A 47-year-old Assistant Section Officer (ASO) at the Telangana Secretariat was allegedly cheated of more than ₹42 lakh after being lured into a fake online IPO and stock trading scheme that was promoted through Instagram advertisements, WhatsApp groups and a fraudulent trading application.

The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police registered a case following a complaint from the officer that she lost ₹42,01,835 after investing through an application called ‘UP QiB Pro’. The WhatsApp group remains active as of August 3.

According to the complaint, the officer came across an Instagram advertisement promoting online trading and IPO investments. After clicking on it, the victim was added to a WhatsApp group named “85 - Exclusive Group”, where administrators claiming to be investment experts regularly posted stock market tips, IPO opportunities and promises of high returns.

Police said the victim was later added to another WhatsApp group, where customer service representatives allegedly instructed to transfer money to multiple bank accounts for trading and IPO subscriptions. The UP QiB Pro application displayed substantial profits in her account, convincing the victim to invest increasingly larger sums.

The fraud allegedly escalated during an IPO of Kusumgar Limited. Despite informing the group that she did not wish to participate, the accused allegedly applied for an IPO worth about ₹1.12 crore in her name without her consent. They claimed her trading wallet contained around ₹85 lakh and demanded she deposit another ₹26 lakh, stating the company had paid the balance on her behalf.

When the victim refused and instead sought the return of her invested money, the accused allegedly froze her trading account, blocked access to both her investment and the purported profits, and stopped responding to her calls and messages.

The complainant subsequently approached the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal before filing a complaint with the Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police.

Based on the complaint, police registered a case under Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act and Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(3) and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The investigation has been entrusted to Inspector Y. Gowru Naidu.

Police said the case is under investigation and the identities and locations of those operating the fake investment network are being verified.