Man Arrested in Delhi Woman’s ₹12.85L Crypto Scam Via Telegram

Indian police have detained a 25-year-old individual over duping a woman from Delhi in a cryptocurrency investment scam through Telegram, as per the report from The Indian Express.

The arrested individual is a BSc Chemistry graduate from Pune who lured the victim with high returns on cryptocurrency investment, which at the end led the woman to losses of over $12.85 lakhs.

According to the Police, the matter came to light in May this year when two complaints were lodged by the victim. In the complaint, she said she was approached by someone posing as a financial advisor on Telegram.

It is worth noting that the usage of social media platforms, especially Telegram, has surged significantly in the crypto market, and the majority of digital asset hype is being made through these platforms and sites.

The victim’s complaint notes that, trusting the advisor, she made 29 separate transactions in different bank accounts, total amount transferred is Rs. 12.85 lakhs, yet when she attempted to withdraw her money, her access was denied, realizing that she had been cheated.

The fake financial advisor was constantly withdrawing the funds

Police found while investigating that one of the primary bank accounts involved in the fraud received a significant amount of funds, and withdrawals were made from an automatic teller machine (ATM) in Pune.

Over this incident, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Vichitra Veer said, “ The fraudsters had made a complex transaction trail, making it challenging to identify the real culprits. But, working patiently, the team found that in one of the beneficiary accounts in Pune, the cheated amount was being withdrawn from an ATM, and the account received a substantial amount in a limited time.”

During this investigation, the police have recovered 14 ATM cards, 4 smartphones, half a dozen bank account passbooks, around 15 chequebooks, including numerous SIM cards, and nearly Rs. 3.45 lakhs in cash from Ragved Ashwin Dengle, the detained individual.

Detailing over Dengle, Police officials said he had earlier invested in regional film production ventures in which he suffered significant losses

Following losses, he met an unidentified individual over Telegram, who reportedly introduced him to cybercrime. With time, Dengle got involved in account arrangements, which were used to receive the defrauded funds. In exchange for arranging accounts, he was receiving USDT as payment for these arrangements

Police also claim that Dengle was the one responsible for distributing the funds to multiple accounts before withdrawing them. The investigation is yet to be completed, and the agency is actively tracking the other individuals involved.

India has one of the fastest-evolving crypto markets in the world, and stands at the top in terms of digital assets adoption; yet, there is a severe need for tougher rules and regulations for this type of crime to avoid losses and threats to the mainstream finance market in India.

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