IPO scam – Two victims from Hyderabad lose over ₹11 crore in fake IPO scams

• Two individuals from Hyderabad have lost over ₹11 crore in fake IPO scams.
• The victims were lured by scammers promising investment opportunities and huge returns.
• The two victims lost ₹5.9 crore and ₹5.2 crore respectively.

In yet another instance of fraudsters using the rising popularity of the stock market and initial public offerings (IPOs) to dupe people, two people from Hyderabad lost over ₹11 crore in fake IPO and investment scams.

There has been a significant rise in stock market-related scams over the past few years, with scammers promising huge returns to lure in victims. In yet another such incident, two professionals have lost over ₹11 crore.

Goldman Sachs Business School scam

In the first incident, Gopu Venugopala Reddy, a businessman from Hyderabad received a WhatsApp message, asking him to join “Goldman Sachs Business School”, which claimed to give him access to block trading and preferential IPO access.

He received the message from a woman claiming to be an assistant to the managing director at Goldman Sachs. She offered investment opportunities through institutional accounts to the victim.

Reddy then received a Google form and downloaded a trading app called ‘GSIN’. The victim transferred a total of ₹5.9 crore between January 30 and February 22 for investing. After he tried to withdraw his funds, he was informed he needed to pay a 20% fee on his profits, which amounted to ₹2.8 crore.

When he asked the woman to withhold 20% from his account and transfer the remaining amount, she insisted that at least a 10% payment was required.

Reddy then realised that he had been duped and filed a complaint. A police investigation later revealed that the amount invested by the victim was transferred into 11 different accounts, making it difficult to trace the amount.

IIFL SECURITIES WhatsApp group

In the second incident, Konduri Hrushikesh, a resident of Hyderabad lost ₹5.2 crore after he joined a WhatsApp group named “A117 IIFL SECURITIES Official Stock Community” after seeing a post on Facebook.

The group, managed by a person named “Ankur Kedia”, who claimed to be the chief investment officer of IIFL Securities advised the victim to invest in IPOs through a stockbroking application.

The victim invested ₹5.2 crore between June 9 and July 2, and when he tried to withdraw the amount, he was unable to do so.

The victim then tried to contact the app’s customer care but did not receive a satisfactory response. He then received a demand for additional funds to be able to withdraw his funds.

The victim then filed a complaint after realising he had been duped.

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