Hyderabad man loses Rs 1.6 crore in crypto currency investment fraud

The 47-year-old private employee was recently added to a Telegram group by unidentified persons, where he was contacted by a woman claiming to show huge returns for investment in ‘Bitcoins’ and also offered him guidance and tips for the same.

Hyderabad: A man has approached the Cyberabad Cybercrime police alleging he was duped to the tune of Rs 1.60 crore by cyber fraudsters who promised him huge returns for investments in crypto currencies.

The 47-year-old private employee from Miyapur told the police that his mobile number was recently added to a Telegram group by unidentified persons, where he was contacted by a woman who claimed to show huge returns for investment in ‘Bitcoins’ and also offered him guidance and tips for the same.

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Police said the complainant who believed the offer to be true, initially sent amounts ranging between Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 through e-wallets.

He immediately saw his investment had become double. Further, they claimed that he had to Rs 5 lakh and take membership, so he could invest higher amounts and gain more profits. They also asked him to pay a 20 per cent commission on the profits.

Accordingly, he sent a total of Rs 1.02 crore to their bank accounts. Few days ago, when he wanted to terminate the contract, they demanded him to pay Rs 30 lakh as commission, which he did. Further, under the names of various expenses, they collected a total of Rs 1.6 crore. However, when he asked them to return his investment and profits, they started avoiding him and blocked his number.

Based on a complaint, the Cybercrime police have booked a case and took up investigation. Efforts are on to trace the cyber crooks.