Crypto fraud: Mumbai woman duped by conman on matrimonial site, loses Rs 24 lakh

The police said that the woman who was in search of a prospective husband was duped by a ‘US-based engineer’ who lured her into investing money in cryptocurrency. Her virtual account became dysfunctional when she expressed her wish to withdraw some money, they said.

“Early in 2022, the woman registered herself on a matrimonial website. Soon after, she came in contact with a person who claimed to be an engineer in the USA and the two exchanged numbers and chatted often,” said an officer.

According to the police, the accused in March last year allegedly explained to the woman the huge returns she would be getting if she invested in a company that deals in cryptocurrency, and went on to coax her to invest in the company where he was getting heavy passive income. He also shared the contact number of a person “who shall guide her” in the investment process, they said.

The woman then called the guide and between April 2022 and December 2022, and invested Rs 24 lakh, said an officer who added that a virtual account was created in her name and it showed that her investment had increased to $62,000, which is equivalent to Rs 52 lakh over a period of time.

However, the guide asked for another Rs 12 lakh as income tax and currency conversion fees early this year when the woman expressed her wish to withdraw some money, the officer said.

A few days later, the woman realised that she was swindled on noticing that her virtual account had become dysfunctional and that the two accused stopped responding to her calls and messages, he said.

The woman then lodged a complaint with the north region cyber cell unit of the Mumbai police. The police have registered a case under relevant sections of cheating, criminal conspiracy and forgery.