Cryptocurrency scam: Gurgaon businessman duped of Rs 45 lakh by ‘South Korean woman’

According to the victim, he got acquainted with a woman, who claimed to be from South Korea, on the messaging service Telegram and after a few days of conversation, she advised him to trade on a cryptocurrency exchange platform, officers said.

In the FIR he lodged with the police, the 44-year-old complainant said, “She made me register on a cryptocurrency trading website on October 28 and on her advice, I started investing a large amount on the platform since I trusted her. She told me her aunt gets information and news regarding trading on the platform and based on the information, I used to invest a heavy amount, which led to profits.”

He added that he had invested over Rs 45 lakh on the platform and the earnings in his trading account reached Rs 1.3 crore. “When I tried withdrawing the amount, the platform restricted me. It mentioned that I must deposit another Rs 25 lakh to withdraw the amount,” he said in the FIR.

The police said the complainant got suspicious and noticed that the website was a copy of a well-known Korean cryptocurrency site. “Now the platform is mentioning that I have to deposit another Rs 25 lakh or else they will start deducting 30 per cent every day from my account. All the transactions were done online through my bank account in different accounts,” he added.

The accused woman claimed to be a victim and said that she was living in Mumbai, officers said. “The accused befriended the victim on social media and after establishing trust, she told him to invest in a cryptocurrency trading website, which was a scam. We are checking bank account statements and starting the process to block the bank account to which the money has been transferred. A probe has been initiated,” a police officer said.

The accused has been booked under sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the cybercrime police station.