Police raises fake crypto investment scam alarm as engineer loses $130k

A retired Indian engineer has lost more than Rs. 1.28 (approximately $133k) to scammers after he was lured with the promise of mouth-watering profits. In the case registered with the Indian police, the scammers introduced the man to a fake crypto trading platform, luring him from WhatsApp before eventually introducing him to their bogus application.

According to the Indian police, the victim was a former employee in the public sector. He claimed that he was 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 alongside an analyst who claimed to be Meena Bhatt. After the introductions, the criminals convinced the suspects to download the mobile application.

Indian engineer loses $130k to scammers

The victim claimed that the members of the group were directed to go to a domain named www(dot)ggtkss(dot)cc to download the application. He noted that the administrator claimed that once they downloaded the app, they would be able to gain access to block deals and high-value IPO allotments unavailable to regular investors.

The Indian police claimed the victim deposited Rs. 1 lakh and was allowed to withdraw Rs. 5,000 to gain his trust.

According to the police statement, over the next few weeks, between November and early December, he was persuaded to deposit higher funds.

Heeding their counsel, he put larger sums to subscribe to the Capital Small Finance Bank IPO and to cover a share buyback. During the period, the police claimed that the victim made deposits of about Rs. 1.2 crore through several bank accounts and UPI.

However, issues started when he tried to withdraw some of his balance. The scammers claimed he would have to pay a 20% commission before he was allowed to make any withdrawals. When they discovered that he was not ready to pay, they froze his account.

Realizing he had been scammed, the Indian engineer approached the police station, reporting the crime to the Cyberabad cybercrime police. The police subsequently registered his complaint and kick-started investigations.

Police warn residents amid rise in crypto-related crimes

Crypto-related crimes in India have been on the rise since the start of the year, with the police proactively working to curb the menace.

In a similar issue, the Indian police claimed that an artificial intelligence scientist was scammed in a crypto investment scam that was introduced to him on a matrimony website. He claimed that he started chatting with a woman he met on the website, who subsequently introduced him to a platform where he could make money off investments.

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

Investigators attached to the Indian police claimed that some of the transactions were made to an account registered under Shankar Sahu, while more than Rs. 13 lakh were routed through an entity called RR Physiotherapy. Indian police say the remaining amount was converted into different digital assets and moved to wallets in the United Kingdom and Malaysia.

Meanwhile, the Indian police have urged the wider population to be alert and watch out for signs that point to an investment being a scam. They warned that scams are presently at an all-time high in the country, a development that has become rampant during the run to the festive periods.

They urged residents to seek advice from experienced and trustworthy financial experts if they want to make investments. They also urged them to report swiftly once they feel that they have become victims of a scam.