Cyber Frauds Cost Bhopal Residents ₹34.75 Lakh

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Cyber fraudsters duped three city residents of a combined Rs 34.75 lakh in separate incidents involving a fake share-trading app, a fraudulent real estate investment and a malicious mobile application, police officials said on Friday.

In the biggest case, retired private bank employee Rohit Verma, a resident of Salaiya under Misrod police station limits, lost Rs 23 lakh after investing through a share-trading application he discovered on Instagram.

Lured by promises of high returns, Verma transferred money in multiple instalments. When he later tried to withdraw his investment and profits, the app operators became unreachable.

Similarly, in another case registered at Nishatpura police station, physiotherapist Neeraj Tiwari alleged that his relative, Sanjay Tiwari, convinced him to invest Rs 10 lakh in a real estate venture.

The suspect returned only Rs 2 lakh before stopping repayments, prompting the victim to file a cheating complaint.

A third case was reported at Ashoka Garden police station, where bike mechanic Azhar Khan lost Rs 1.75 lakh after downloading an APK file received on WhatsApp.

The file, disguised as Regional Transport Office (RTO) documents, allegedly infected his phone with malware, enabling fraudsters to make five unauthorised transactions. Khan discovered the fraud while checking his bank account days later.

Police have registered cases and advised citizens to avoid unverified investment schemes and refrain from downloading APK files to protect themselves from cyber fraud.