FPJ Cyber Secure: Man Loses ₹85 Lakh After Dating App 'Friend' Suggests Crypto Trade

Mumbai: A 39-year-old man lost more than Rs85 lakh after a woman he had met on a dating app induced him to make a crypto investment. In his police complaint, the Juhu Scheme resident said that the woman claimed to be from China and soon they began chatting on Telegram. 

During the conversations, the woman said that her parents were based in Mumbai and that she would settle in the city very soon. She later told the complainant about her 'profitable experience' in crypto trading and lured the man, saying that he can also make a killing if he opts to invest.

Man realises fraud after being unable to withdraw profits

With no sound knowledge about the crypto business, the complainant trusted the woman and invested through the website suggested by the con. The fraudster told him that even she used the same portal and it was “trusted and user friendly”. The aggrieved began trading through the said website and invested over Rs85 lakh over a period of time. 

He finally sensed the fraud when he tried to make withdrawals from his crypto account, but found it to be locked. After making a few inquiries, the man learnt that the website was bogus. Another shock came in when he discovered that the woman had deleted all the conversations between them and even the portal had disappeared from cyberspace. 

A case has been filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Information Technology Act.