Maharashtra Cyber Fraud: 38-Year-Old Nagpur Businessman Duped Of ₹54.35 Lakh In Cryptocurrency Scam; Case Registered
Nagpur businessman scammed of ₹54 lakh in fake crypto investment via fraudulent apps and online chats | Representative photo
Mumbai: A 38-year-old businessman allegedly lost Rs 54.35 lakh in an online cryptocurrency investment scam. The police have launched an investigation against unknown scammers who had used two fraudulent cryptocurrency trading platforms to dupe the victim.
According to the police, the complainant is a resident of Nagpur and has an electrical material supply business. In February, the complainant while surfing his Facebook account came across the profile of a woman, claimed to be a beautician.
The two then began chatting over messages and video calls and during one of their conversations, the woman told the complainant that she invests in cryptocurrency and has earned huge profits through it.
When the complainant showed interest in investing, the scammer shared two cryptocurrency trading app links and also shared contact details of the person who handles the app. The complainant then downloaded the apps and also registered his profile on them.
The scammers told the complainant that the money invested by him will be converted in USDT/Bitcoins and the invested amount along with the profit would be credited back in his bank account.
Later the scammers also added the complainant on a WhatsApp group where information regarding cryptocurrency investment was being shared. From April 07 to June 05, the complainant transferred Rs 54.35 lakh in different beneficiary bank accounts in over a dozen online transactions.
The complainant could see his earnings of 118715 USDT in the app wallets, however when he requested the scammers to release his money, they asked him to pay more Rs 21 lakh in order to get his money.
Having realised that he had been duped, the complainant approached the cyber crime police and got an offence registered in the matter recently. A case has been registered by the police under sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation), 336 (forgery), 340 (forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.
<!– Published on: Tuesday, June 24, 2025, 10:55 PM IST –>
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