In this day and age, it is becoming increasingly difficult to safeguard oneself from some of the most popular online scams in India, such as the part-time job scam, fake Army officer scam, SIM swap scam, and remote access scam. But what if we told you that crypto investors now need to be vigilant against a new crypto scam as well?
In this particular incident, as reported by the Times of India, a 53-year-old Bengaluru-based engineer lost a whopping 95 lakhs to a scammer who convinced him to invest in Bitcoin.
The man, a resident of Shanti Nagar, came across a woman named Sonia Shenoy on the social media platform Instagram, and she befriended him years ago in 2021. Now, over the course of the last two years (2022 and 2023), she made him invest Rs 95 lakhs in Bitcoin.
The woman made false promises that involved assuring the victim that she worked for a multinational company that dealt in Bitcoin.
“Trusting her, I invested in June 2022. In July, she told me that my profit of Rs 2 crore was ready but I had to make a payment of Rs 50 lakh towards TDS,” the man filed in his official complaint.
Like most people would do in such a case, the man ended up arranging Rs 50 lakhs more for a promised Rs 2 crores in return.
The man explained that he had to arrange funds by taking personal loans from various banks. “She then told me the Rs 2 crore profit will be transferred to my account soon. I waited till and realised that I had been duped.”
How To Be Safe From Such Scams
Be it the job scam or the crypto investment scam—the modus operandi remains the same. A scammer gets in touch with you, promises high and unrealistic returns on investment, and to earn trust, even delivers small payouts in the beginning. But things go sour when they ask for big investments, and then naturally, when the victim asks for his returns, they are told that they will have to pay a certain fee or pay a little more to free (TDS in this case) the money. This loop goes on, and the victim gets ensnared in the fraudulent scheme.
To be safe, never talk to random strangers on the internet who promise you unrealistic dreams. Also, if you do come across an ad that promises the same, never click on it.
Also, such scammers typically use platforms like Telegram, Instagram, and WhatsApp to get in touch with potential victims. So, beware of new people in your DMs, and tread with caution.
Comments
0 comment