On a quiet January morning in Hyderabad, cybercrime investigators began tracing one of the city’s most sensitive digital fraud cases in recent memory. The victim was the wife of V. V. Lakshminarayana, a former joint director of the Central Bureau of Investigation known nationally for probing high-profile corruption and terrorism cases.
According to police officials, cybercriminals siphoned off ₹2.58 crore over a 13-day period between December 24, 2025, and January 5, 2026. The money moved through 19 separate transactions into multiple “mule” bank accounts, a familiar laundering tactic that allows fraudsters to fragment funds and complicate recovery.
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A senior police officer said a special cybercrime team has been constituted to follow the digital and financial trails. “Our immediate focus is tracking the money across accounts and jurisdictions,” the officer said, adding that the case has been escalated due to its scale and sensitivity.
The Anatomy of a Modern Investment Scam
Preliminary findings suggest the fraud followed a now-common but increasingly sophisticated pattern. Investigators say the victim was contacted via WhatsApp by individuals promising extraordinary returns from stock market investments. The lure was striking: claims of profits as high as 500 percent.
One of the fraudsters allegedly introduced himself as “Dinesh Singh” and spent weeks conducting what police described as “scholarly” trading sessions, carefully building trust. To reinforce credibility, the group shared forged documents purportedly certified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
“These were not random messages,” said R. G. Siva Maruthi, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cybercrime). “The approach was sustained, personalised and technically polished. The objective was to lower suspicion gradually.”
Investigators believe the fraudsters deliberately stretched the operation over weeks to normalise repeated transfers, a psychological tactic designed to make each new payment feel routine rather than risky.
International Servers and the Vanishing Trail
The fraud unravelled only after the victim stopped transferring funds, police said. At that point, the tone reportedly shifted: threats replaced assurances, and the illusion of legitimacy collapsed.
Digital forensics teams examining the victim’s phone and email accounts found evidence that the syndicate used international routing servers to mask its true location. Calls and messages appeared local but were traced back to infrastructure outside India, a tactic that has become increasingly common in large-value cyber fraud.
Because of the cross-border elements, the case has been linked to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, with investigators exploring whether the operation connects to larger international scam networks operating across Asia.
“The technical sophistication here suggests this was not a standalone crime,” an investigator said. “It fits a broader pattern we are seeing nationwide.”
Status, Trust and a Wider Vulnerability
Investigators are also examining whether the victim was deliberately targeted because of her profile. In a striking detail, police said the fraudsters encouraged her to involve her husband—at her request—in a WhatsApp group to help understand trading “technicalities.” His presence, officers believe, may have unintentionally reinforced her confidence in the scheme.
The episode has unsettled many in law-enforcement circles. If the family of a former top CBI official can be manipulated through forged documents, social engineering and digital deception, experts say it underscores how exposed even the most informed citizens are.
Cybercrime specialists note that such cases are no longer about technical hacking alone but about exploiting trust, authority and aspiration. “These crimes succeed not because systems fail,” one investigator said, “but because human judgment is carefully engineered to fail.”
As Hyderabad police continue to pursue the money trail and identify those behind the servers and accounts, the case stands as a stark reminder: in the digital age, proximity to power offers little protection against a well-designed scam.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
