The cyber crime wing of the Hyderabad police arrested two men from Karnataka in connection with separate online scams that targeted vulnerable individuals and collectively swindled victims of lakhs of rupees across the States.In the first case, B. Sainath Reddy was arrested in Bengaluru for his role in a fraudulent online investment scheme that duped a 52-year-old woman from Troop Bazaar of ₹3.79 lakh.The victim had fallen prey to a fake trading platform called ‘Block Trading’ after seeing an advertisement on Facebook. She was directed to a WhatsApp group called K-2 Nuvama Wealth Group, operated by individuals impersonating as financial advisors.Initially, the woman was allowed to withdraw a small profit, which convinced her of the platform’s legitimacy. However, as she continued to invest larger sums, she was later told she must pay a 30% ‘profit tax’ to access her funds. When she refused, the scammers cut off all contact. Investigation revealed that Reddy, an account facilitator, supplied and managed several bank accounts, used to receive funds from victims. He is linked to 11 cases across Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.In a second case, Sourav S, a 26-year-old private employee from Chitradurga, Karnataka, was arrested for his role in a ‘digital arrest’ scam. The accused and his associates targeted a 76-year-old woman from Secunderabad, falsely claiming that her Aadhaar number was linked to a human trafficking case. Posing as officials from the Bengaluru police and the Central Bureau of Investigation, the scammers used WhatsApp calls and forged documents, including a fake Supreme Court order, to intimidate the victim into transferring ₹40.5 lakh to accounts they controlled.Sourav, who acted both as an account holder and account supplier, is connected to at least seven similar cases across Telangana, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.The seizures from both accused include multiple mobile phones, cheque books, debit and credit cards, company stamps, QR code scanners, and documents linked to shell companies. Further investigations are under way.Published - July 30, 2025 04:55 pm IST