Mumbai Cyber Safe: Architect loses ₹3 lakh to crypto fraud

Mumbai: A 27-year-old architect from south Mumbai lost ₹3.22 lakh after falling into the trap of cyber fraudsters who promised her good returns, that too, in the form of cryptocurrency. In her complaint lodged at the Azad Maidan police station, Shweta Wandhekar said that she had received a message on her mobile phone on March 7, which offered extra earnings by liking YouTube videos.

Victim added to Telegram group

After accepting the gig, she was added to a Telegram group and given the said task. After completing it, a woman named Amayara called Wandhekar, took her bank details and deposited ₹15 in the latter's bank account. Then, the aggrieved was informed that she would need to pay for taking up further tasks. Wandhekar paid ₹1,000 and received ₹1,300 after completing another gig.

Digital currency

On March 10, she was asked to pay ₹12,000, with the promise of ₹15,600 in return. However, the complainant deposited halve the amount after which she was told that she needs to pay full money for getting the task. Subsequently, she was asked to invest ₹2.5 lakh and earn in cryptocurrency as the return would multiply in the digital currency.

An unsuspecting Wandhekar ended up paying a total of ₹3.22 lakh in six transactions. Later, she was even assigned a task which she completed, too. However, she didn't get the promised return hence she inquired with the fraudster who asked her to pay ₹15 lakh more for earning in crypto. She sensed the cheating and approached the police.