Mira Bhayandar: A 37-year-old mobile dealer from Mira Road was cheated of more than Rs. 33 lakh by cyber criminals on the pretext of investment in cryptocurrency.
In his complaint to the Kashimira police, the mobile trader stated that he was added to a WhatsApp group by an unknown admin. When the complainant ignored the messages posted in the group, the admin who identified herself as Amy established contact with him and convinced him into making investments on a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
How the man was duped off Rs 33L?
As directed by the woman, the complainant downloaded a mobile application to create a crypto trading account. The complainant invested small amounts by transferring money to a crypto wallet which is used to store electronic funds by converting into USDT. The operators provided small profits on initial few investments. However, he suffered loss and lost his money following which he stopped trading on the crypto platform. A few days later the admin suggested he hire an expert advisor who will not only help him recover his losses but give tips to earn profits in exchange for a 20 per cent commission.
Based on the inputs by the advisor who identified himself as-Mark, the complainant invested Rs 33.65 lakh (39,596 USDT) and due to huge profits, the balance in his wallet soared to 2,47,210 USDT. However, he was unable to withdraw the money as the app was frozen. When the admin and the advisor stopped responding to his calls and emails, the complainant realised he was duped and registered a complaint with the Kashimira police. While further investigation is underway, the police have cautioned the public to be careful during online transactions and use the dedicated helpline number 1930 to report any cyber offence.
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Mumbai police cautions citizens
According to Cyber Crime Cell under Crime Branch of Mumbai police, the most common form of online frauds are related to banks, online commerce platforms where fraudsters, posing as bank /platform officials, convince the victim to share OTP, KYC updates and sometimes send the links to be clicked to access bank accounts.“People should know that no bank or institution is authorised to demand for bank details or PIN numbers. Unfortunately, educated people are falling prey to online frauds and losing lakhs of rupees,” explained DCP Cyber Crime , Balsingh Rajput.
