An 81-year-old man from Ghodbunder Road in Mumbai got scammed out of nearly Rs 87 lakh after falling for a cryptocurrency investment fraud. The whole thing started back in June when some woman named Leela Gupta sent him a friend request on Facebook.
After he accepted, she moved their chats to Messenger and then WhatsApp, where she started talking about how he could make huge profits by investing in USDT, which is a type of cryptocurrency. She sent him links to some trading platforms and walked him through setting up an account.
Between June and August the poor guy transferred money in multiple chunks ranging from Rs 40,000 to Rs 13 lakh to different bank accounts that Gupta gave him. The platform showed he had profits of 2.76 lakh USDT, but when he tried withdrawing money, they rejected it, saying he needed to pay 30% as some security fee.
She kept making excuses and asking for more money, claiming her uncle would help and that she paid Rs 30 lakh herself. When he finally realized it was all fake, he reported it to the cyber helpline. Police are now investigating and warned people to stay away from sketchy investment offers on social media that promise quick high returns.
Conclusion
This case is a stark reminder that social media investment pitches are often traps. Always verify platforms, avoid unsolicited advisors, and never transfer money without proper due diligence and official safeguards.
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