Several lose money in ‘The Wine Bottle’ app fraud in Telangana

The fraudsters conned them by first paying some members as they had promised.

Published: 08th June 2023 09:42 AM | Last Updated: 08th June 2023 10:54 AM | A+A A-

EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION

ADILABAD: Several people in the Mancherial district have been taken for a ride by those who ran an app - The Wine Bottle. The managers of the Wine Bottle advertised that if anyone invested money, they would get good returns in a short time. Trusting them, several people joined the app, paying Rs 425 as a registration fee.

The managers of the App convinced the members that if they invested in the app, their returns would triple soon. If one invested Rs 5,000, he/she would get Rs 15,000, Rs 3 lakh for an investment of Rs 1 lakh, in a short span of time.

Several people convinced that they could multiply their money in no time, invested up to Rs 10 lakh. After collecting investments from a number of people, the managers closed the app and disappeared. The victims who invested up to Rs 10 lakh included Singareni and government employees and even police personnel.

The fraudsters conned them by first paying some members as they had promised. Seeing others multiplying their money, many more people invested in the App only to know that the organisers were fly-by-night operators. One of the victims, M Rakesh from Chennur Mandal, said he had invested Rs 37,500 and he got Rs 2,368 back for 10 days on the trot and after that, the app did not function.

He said that many people had invested in the App in Chennur Mandal and now they are left high and dry. He said it was foolish of him to invest in online apps. "I have lost only a little, But how could those who had lost lakhs get back their investment?" he asked.

Now the managers are not available and those who have access to them through WhatsApp are getting replies to their messages that they were in Goa and Delhi. The victims said that they trusted the app because it had about 1.3 million followers.