Man duped of ₹38 lakh by woman he met on matrimonial site

A man was cheated of ₹38 lakh in a cryptocurrency scam by a woman he met on a matrimonial site. Police have registered a case and frozen bank accounts.

A 30-year-old man was allegedly cheated of ₹38 lakh on the pretext of investment in cryptocurrency by a woman whom he had befriended on a matrimonial site while looking for a suitable life partner, police said on Sunday.

According to the police, both of them exchanged contact numbers and the suspect started chatting with him over WhatsApp using a mobile phone number from London. (Representational image)

The victim, who did not wish to be named, is a resident of Sector-43 in Gurugram. He had befriended the suspect on November 12 last year. She identified herself as a native of Kolkata and claimed she was working in London, police said.

According to the police, both of them exchanged contact numbers and the suspect started chatting with him over WhatsApp using a mobile phone number from London.

They said that the suspect gained the victim’s trust and soon he developed a liking for her and was preparing to take the matter forward when she suggested to him one day suddenly that he must start investing in cryptocurrencies to earn good profits.

A senior police officer said that both invested ₹10 lakh each via the same cryptocurrency wallet which was an attempt to win the trust of the victim. “Later the woman asked the victim to keep investing and got the victim acquainted with customer care executives who were actually other members of the gang,” he said.

On December 20, the woman withdrew the amount which she had deposited initially which alarmed the victim and he contacted the executives who continuously made him deposit money citing charges, taxes, channel fees and overall cheated him of ₹38 lakh.

Investigators said that the woman remained in touch with him till January 22 and tried to give the impression that she was not involved in the matter. However, the suspect got a FIR registered against her and other associates under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code at Cybercrime police station (east) on Friday.

Deputy commissioner of police (cybercrime), Siddhant Jain, said five bank accounts in which the victim was asked to deposit money were frozen and they were working to get whatever money was in them reversed to the victim’s account. “We are trying to trace and nab the suspects,” he said.