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Cybercriminals recently duped a Pune senior citizen of Rs. 1.3 crore through a fake online investment scheme. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Vivek Masal, confirmed that an investigation is underway. Police officials further added the modus operandi closely matches another recent case in Pune, where a senior telecom executive was cheated of Rs. 51 lakh through a similar Tether-based investment scam involving fake foreign crypto platforms.
A 62-year-old resident of Kharadi registered a case of cyber fraud worth Rs. 1.32 crore in the Pune city cyber police department. The victim was lured into investing large sums of money with the promise of unusually high returns. The investigating officials revealed that the fraud took place between July and September.
It began with a Facebook friend request from a woman who claimed to be a fashion designer. She gained the victim’s trust within weeks through online conversations, talking about her success in cryptocurrency trading and investments in Tether (USDT), which is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.
The lady introduced him to another person, who presented himself as an India-based executive of an overseas cryptocurrency exchange. This person guided the victim through the investment process.
The senior citizen was asked to download a mobile application, which investigators now believe was fake. He transferred at least 23 times, worth Rs. 1.3 crore. The app showed his investment growing rapidly, eventually displaying a balance of over Rs. 4 crore.
Trouble began when he attempted to withdraw the funds. The scammers demanded an additional 15 per cent payment. They claimed it as a mandatory tax. At this point, the victim realised something was wrong and approached the cyber police.
People should restrict app installations so that no new apps can be downloaded without approval.
Unknown numbers on WhatsApp and phone calls should be silenced and blocked.
Two-step verification should be used on all social media and messaging apps.
Enable Facebook privacy settings to prevent friend requests from unknown profiles.
Banking apps should be secured with a strong password
Transaction alerts should be enabled for every debit and credit.
Also Read: What is GhostPairing? WhatsApp Scam Hijacks Accounts Without OTPs or SIM Swaps
Scammers target older people who may not be familiar with cryptocurrency. They use fake apps and well-prepared scripts to fool the victims. Family members should review elderly relatives’ digital activity and encourage them to consult before making any financial decisions.
Awareness and prevention are strong defences against online scams.
