Hyderabad, Feb. 20 -- A 35-year-old man from Hyderabad was allegedly duped of Rs 36.30 lakh in an investment fraud after scammers claiming to be representatives of Barclays International Group promised him a profit of Rs 7 crore.

The incident occurred in Malkajgiri Cybercrime Police limits. On January 30, the victim was added to a WhatsApp group named "Barclays." The administrators shared trading tips, screenshots of profits and alleged Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) registration certificates to gain his trust.

One of the scammers, identified as Sanya, claimed to be a trader and contacted the victim. She shared links to trading websites with the victim and persuaded him to join the platform. Convinced, the man made an in...