Navi Mumbai man loses Rs 19 lakh in cryptocurrency fraud

The Navi Mumbai police on Thursday said that a 37yearold resident was duped of nearly Rs 19 lakh in a cryptocurrency fraudThe victim fell prey to an elaborate cryptocurrency fraud orchestrated by three alleged fraudsters last month newswire PTI reported quoting Police The victim registered a complaint with the Navi Mumbai Cyber Police on WednesdayA case has been filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code IPC and further investigation was underway said a Cyber Police officialThe victim was contacted by the fraudsters through a WhatsApp number and a Telegram ID and they convinced him to invest in a cryptocurrency a type of digital asset used as an alternative payment method by promising lucrative returns he saidThe Navi Mumbai resident trusting the purported investment opportunity ended up transferring Rs 1890000 to various bank accounts given by the fraudsters between December 7 and 11 said the police officialAs the victim eagerly awaited returns on his investment the accused stopped communicating with him leading the former to lodge a complaint with the Cyber PoliceAlso read Borivali Police nabs chain snatcher involved in multiple cases in MumbaiThe Cyber Police are utilizing technological means to trace the fraudsters and retrieve the defrauded amount said the officialIn October the Navi Mumbai cyber police froze several bank accounts involving amounts worth Rs 3266 crore in cryptocurrency fraudSenior police inspector Gajanan Kadam of the cyber police station in Navi Mumbai told news agency PTI that they received a cheating complaint in August from a man who claimed to have invested more than Rs 66 crore in cryptocurrency tradingThe man stated in the complaint that a woman caller befriended him and later asked him to invest in cryptocurrency trading while assuring good returns according to the PTI reportAs the complainant started investing huge amounts he received a total of Rs 75 lakh in returns on various occasions but later stopped getting the same the official saidAn offence in this connection was registered with the cyber police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology ActA police probe team enquired with various banks where the money was paid by the complainant and as a first step got accounts involving amounts worth Rs 326612091 frozen over the last few weeks the official saidBased on several leads the probe team in the last week of September zeroedin on two persons from Ghatkopar in neighbouring MumbaiThe police later arrested the two persons identified as Balu Sakharam Khandagale 42 and Rajendra Ramkhilavan Patel 52 the official saidDuring the probe it was revealed that the arrested persons had handed over mobile numbers bank account details cheque books and ATM cards of various persons to others involved in the crime With inputs from agencies