Retired DRDO scientist loses Rs 62 lakh in cyber fraud

A 65-year-old retired scientist of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has fallen prey to the latest cyber fraud to have hit the city, in which she suffered a loss of a whopping ₹62 lakh on an online investment lure.

The incident in Hyderabad underscores the fact that more and more senior citizens are falling prey to online fraud.

On February 27, 2025, Badangpet-based retired scientist was lured with a suspicious link on WhatsApp, the police said. When he clicked it, he added to a WhatApp group called “Awarigafin NNM S116” with more than 100 subscribers.

The group was reported to be managed by one Diya Verma, who lured members with false claims of massive earnings through investments in stocks of institutions, Over The Counter (OTC) companies and Initial Public Offer (IPO) issuing firms.

The victim first invested a mere ₹20,000. These scammers then managed to subtly coax him into depositing ever increasing amounts. The victim told the police that his digital wallet in the “Awarigafin” app was showing a balance of ₹1.35 crore.

But when he wanted to close the account, he was asked to pay a commission of ₹21 lakh. Having met the demand, he was then asked to also pay ₹32.6 lakh towards income tax dues.

When he said he did not have the extra amount, the victim found that his access to the investment application had been cut off, which naturally aroused suspicion.

Between March 8 and May 3, 2025, the retired scientist had paid ₹62 lakhs to multiple bank accounts given by the cybercrooks in 28 transactions.

Once he got to know he was cheated, the victim lodged a complaint at the Rachakonda Cyber Crime Police Station on Monday. Police have registered the case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology (IT) Act and are probing the issue.

This is a glaring example of how cyber frauds are posing a grave danger and people are falling into the trap of such fraudsters, especially our senior citizens, who are not very well-versed with online banking transactions and often become victims to such fraudsters who use various tricks to defraud them.

Police have repeatedly warned the public to be vigilant when dealing with unexpected investment opportunities and to confirm the authenticity of online or cryptocurrency platforms before spending any money.

Investigators would probably follow the trail of money and the bank accounts that were used to capture the culprits. This particular case comes in the wake of a number of cyber frauds that target the vulnerable and calls for more awareness and stronger cyber security.