Hyderabad Doctor Loses ₹14.61 Crore in Shocking Online Love & Stock Market Scam
Hyderabad, December 20:
In one of the most shocking cyber fraud cases reported in Telangana, a 44-year-old dental surgeon and businessman from Hyderabad has been cheated of a staggering ₹14.61 crore by a woman he met online, in what police believe to be the largest single-victim cyber scam in the state so far.
According to officials of the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB), the victim, a resident of Erragadda, first came into contact with a woman identifying herself as Monica Madhavan on Facebook Messenger on August 27. Claiming to be based in Chennai and narrating a story of marital discord and an impending divorce, she gradually built an emotional bond and gained his trust.
Within days, the fraudster shifted conversations to Telegram, using the handle @DadPrincessMoni. There, she projected herself as a seasoned stock market expert allegedly working with a UK-based financial services company. Flaunting claims of earning ₹4–5 lakh daily, she lured the doctor with promises of extraordinary returns through stock market investments.
She persuaded him to open an online trading account on a fake website — www.cmcmarketsltd.com — and even convinced him to complete KYC formalities using his Aadhaar details. To strengthen credibility, she initially showed profits of ₹8.6 lakh on an investment of ₹30 lakh and allowed a partial withdrawal of ₹85,000, which further boosted his confidence.
Encouraged by the apparent gains, the woman then convinced him to invest a much larger amount, assuring that she too would invest from her father’s funds. Between September 3 and November 21, the victim transferred money 91 times from four personal and family bank accounts into 40 different company current accounts spread across 10 states.
The fraudulent trading platform later showed that his wallet balance had swelled to ₹34 crore. However, when he attempted to withdraw the funds, the scammers demanded a 30% advance tax payment of ₹7.5 crore. Monica claimed she would pay half of it through USDT cryptocurrency, but later cited a “third-party payment issue” and demanded another ₹3.75 crore.
It was only after repeated demands and blocked withdrawals that the doctor realised he had fallen into an elaborate cyber trap. Having already taken bank loans and borrowed heavily from friends and relatives to fund the so-called investments, he finally approached the police.
Based on his complaint, the TGCSB registered a case under Section 66-D of the Information Technology Act and Sections 318(4), 319(2), and 338 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigators have so far frozen bank accounts containing nearly ₹1 crore and are actively tracing the complex money trail across multiple states.
Cyber crime officials have once again cautioned the public against trusting strangers met online, especially those offering guaranteed or unusually high investment returns. Such scams often involve fake social media profiles, professionally designed spoof websites, and psychological manipulation.
Authorities have urged citizens to immediately report suspicious online financial activities to the cyber crime helpline 1930, stressing that early reporting increases the chances of fund recovery. Further developments are expected as the investigation continues.
