Man duped of Rs 5.5 lakh in fake crypto investment scam

Chandigarh: Cyber police have booked unidentified persons for allegedly duping a 23-year-old city resident of Rs 5.5 lakh on the pretext of investment in online digital currency.

In his complaint, Shubham Kumar Goyal, a resident of Sector 45, said he received a message on Telegram on May 24 from a woman identifying herself as Kanchan Bansal from a digital marketing agency. She offered him hotel rating work with a promised earning of Rs 3,500 per day.

She initially shared links for rating hotels, for which he received Rs 160. Subsequently, he was given more online tasks involving reviews and ratings.

On May 27, she asked him to invest in digital currency and directed him to make payments via a QR code. She later shared multiple UPI IDs and account numbers, to which he allegedly transferred a total of Rs 5,50,142 through his own accounts as well as those of his friends and mother.

Out of the total amount, Rs 2,000 was returned on May 27. When he demanded the remaining money, he was told to follow a withdrawal process. However, his attempt to withdraw Rs 16,800 failed, and he was then informed that his account had been frozen due to an error and the money would not be returned.

Realising he had been cheated, Goyal approached the cyber police station in Sector 17 and provided transaction details. After verification, a case was registered against unknown persons, and police are analysing the transactions to trace the accused.