A 37-year-old man working for a finance company lost ₹40 lakh after falling prey to a cryptocurrency investment fraud. In his police complaint, the Andheri resident said that he came in contact with a woman on Facebook on September 4.

Claiming to be from Singapore, she said that she had reaped huge profits, thanks to the crypto trade.

The crypto fraud

Gradually, they started talking on the Telegram app. To trap the aggrieved, the woman said that she purchases crypto from one exchange and sells it on another. She then told the man that he could make huge profits if he invested in crypto through an exchange suggested by her. Next, the con shared a crypto exchange link and asked him to open an account. Initially, the complainant invested an amount of 280 in cryptocurrency. Subsequently, a profit of 168 cryptos was reflected in his account.

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Victim realised he was duped

Between September 7 and 14, the man went on to invest ₹40 lakh through the exchange suggested by the woman. He kept doing so because his account showed a rise in his ‘profits’. When the man couldn’t withdraw his earnings, the con asked him to contact the exchange’s customer care number. The ‘executive’ sought more investments, saying that the credit score was low, said the complainant, adding that he later figured out that the exchange was bogus.

A case has been filed under the Indian Penal Code as well as the Information Technology Act sections pertaining to cheating.

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This story was first published in the Free Press Journal.