Hyderabad: The police have issued an advisory to people to be ‘cautious’ about online investment scams promoted through the Facebook page and Telegram account titled ‘Laila Rao’.
The advisory comes after the police found that many middle-class women were lured and conned of huge amounts of money by scammers.
According to the advisory, scammers are posting online television debate videos by creating fake audio visuals of conversations where high-profile businessmen are talking about ‘Laila Rao’ and her proven good work to uplift women.
The scam promotes itself primarily on Facebook and uploads videos of the said Laila Rao doing day-to-day activities, with captions like, “I am an investor, great mom, and happy wife. I can help Indian ladies with investment,” said a police official.
They are also running channels on Telegram such as “Laila Super”, “Laila – ur investment guide”, “Laila Rao Best”, and many others.
On a Telegram channel titled ‘Big Incomes’, when you message, it automatically sends a fake news article talking about Laila Rao’s rags-to-riches story. Another account sends several fake screenshots of money transfers and WhatsApp messages from apparent users thanking Laila Rao for changing their lives. Then the demand for money towards investments starts, the police stated.
“People should be careful about investment fraud. Complaints have been filed in all states around the country. The scammers are operating from different states simultaneously,” said the Cybercrime police.
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