In separate incidents of cyber fraud, two senior citizens in Hyderabad have been duped of over ₹58.8 lakh after falling prey to a deceptive online schemes, one through an Instagram-based trading platform, and the other via a misleading YouTube advertisement promising a high-value coin sale.

In the first case, a 60-year-old resident of Jubilee Hills lost over ₹57.4 lakh after being misled by a fraudulent investment platform called “FX Road”. The victim came across the platform through an Instagram advertisement, which led him to engage with individuals posing as ‘trading experts’. After convincing him to register and sign documents digitally, they guided him to invest via credit card payments and bank transfers, claiming the funds were being used to trade in crude oil, precious metals, company stocks like Tesla, and cryptocurrencies.

To build trust, the platform initially displayed fake profits. Later, the scammers pressured the victim to deposit more funds to maintain “margin levels” as the market became volatile. This led him to borrow ₹7–8 lakh from Navi, a financial services platform, and pledge his ICICI Prudential Savings Suraksha policy to raise an additional ₹17.5 lakh.

He was further asked to deposit a further ₹25–32 lakh. Realising he had been deceived, the victim reported the matter to the national cybercrime helpline (1930). Investigations later revealed that the fraudsters had impersonated representatives of a reputed brokerage firm, Trade Bulls, and used forged documents to run a well-orchestrated scam.

In a second incident, a 68-year-old resident of Dar-ul-shifa lost over ₹1.46 lakh after responding to a YouTube advertisement falsely claiming that a ₹20 coin could be sold for ₹50 lakh. Tempted by the offer, the victim called the number provided and was contacted by a man who identified himself as “Raj Gyani.” Claiming to be a collector, the fraudster initially requested ₹1,500 to “create a file” for the transaction, then continued to extract money under various pretexts including documentation and clearance charges.

Trusting the process, the victim transferred multiple payments totalling ₹1,46,100. When the fraudster demanded an additional ₹1 lakh, the victim realised he had been conned and subsequently reported the fraud to the cybercrime helpline.

Investigation is underway.