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A 28-year-old woman, employed as a teacher, fell victim to an alleged fraud scheme where she was deceived of ₹3.55 lakhs under the false promise of investing in bitcoin with the assurance of double returns.
The incident began when the victim, a resident of Vikhroli, received a message on her Instagram account regarding a bitcoin investment plan. The fraudsters instructed her to pay an initial sum of ₹10,000 to initiate the scheme, which she complied with on June 18. Soon after this, they directed her to download a mobile application called Binance, claiming it would allow her to monitor her “profit profile.”
Fraudsters assured that profits would soon be transferred
According to the scheme, the victim was encouraged to invest varying amounts each day, accumulating to a total of ₹3.55 lakhs, while her “profit profile” displayed a substantial increase to ₹8 lakhs. The fraudsters assured her that the profits would soon be transferred to her.
As the transactions continued, the victim was eventually asked to pay ₹ 1.20 lakhs to withdraw her supposed profits, which were denominated in dollars. In order to convert the funds to Indian rupees, she was informed that additional payments were required. Facing a shortage of funds, the victim resorted to borrowing money from family members, hoping for substantial returns.
Fraudsters abruptly disappeared
However, after numerous requests for further payments, the fraudsters abruptly disappeared, leaving the victim to realise that she had been deceived. On Monday, she approached the police and provided a detailed account of the incident.
The Vikhroli police have launched an investigation into the matter, filing a case against unknown individuals under charges of cheating and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
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