Engineer loses $130,000, police warn of fake cryptocurrency investment scam

A retired Indian engineer lost over Rs 100 million. A scammer paid $1.28 (approximately $133,000) after being fooled with the promise of a mouth-watering profit. In the case registered with the Indian police, the scammers introduced the man to a fake cryptocurrency trading platform, lured him away from WhatsApp and eventually introduced him to a fake application.

According to Indian police, the victim was a former public sector employee. He claimed to have been added to a WhatsApp group titled ‘531 DBS Stock Profit Growth Wealth Group’.

The victim claimed that the group administrator introduced himself as Professor Rajat Verma. He addressed them along with an analyst named Meena Bhatt. After the introduction, the criminals convinced the suspects to download the mobile application.

Indian engineer loses $130,000 to scammers

The victim claimed that members of the group were instructed to visit a domain named www(dot)ggtkss(dot)cc and download the application. He noted that administrators had claimed that downloading the app would give them access to block trades and large IPO allocations that are not available to retail investors.

Indian police claimed that the victim had deposited Rs 100 million. I was able to withdraw 100,000 rupees. $5,000 to gain his trust.

Over several weeks in November and early December, he was persuaded to deposit larger sums of money, police said.

Following their advice, he subscribed to Capital Small Finance Bank’s IPO and put in even more money to cover the buyback. Police claimed that during this period, the victim made deposits of around Rs 100 million. 1.2 billion through multiple bank accounts and UPI.

However, the problem started when he tried to withdraw some of his balance. The scammers claimed that you had to pay a 20% fee before being allowed to withdraw. When they found out he wasn’t ready to pay, they froze his account.

Realizing that he had been scammed, the Indian engineer approached the police station and reported the crime to the Cyberabad Cyber ​​Crime Police. Later, the police registered a complaint against him and started an investigation.

Police warn residents following increase in crypto-related crimes

Cryptocurrency-related crimes have been on the rise in India since the beginning of this year, and police are actively working to curb the threat.

In a similar matter, Indian police claimed that an artificial intelligence scientist was fooled by a cryptocurrency investment scam that was featured on a matrimonial website. He claimed that he started chatting with a woman he met on a website and was later introduced to a platform where he could make money investing.

Over the next three months, the victim claimed to have transferred USDT to the platform across 14 transactions.

Indian police investigators alleged that some of the transactions took place in an account registered in the name of Shankar Sahu, but further transactions amounted to more than Rs 100 million. 1.3 million were sent through an organization called RR Physical Therapy. Indian police said the remaining amount was converted into various digital assets and transferred to wallets in the UK and Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Indian police have urged the public at large to be wary and watch out for signs that an investment is fraudulent. They warned that fraud is currently at an all-time high in the country and is rampant ahead of the festive period.

They urged residents to seek advice from experienced and trusted financial professionals if they wish to invest. He also urged people to report it immediately if they feel they have been a victim of fraud.