Crypto fraud: Thane woman robbed of Rs 14 lakh

The Thane woman responded to a WhatsApp message and then trusted the online gangsters who initially paid handsome amounts and showed good returns in cryptocurrency trading. Once she made a considerable amount of investment in crypto, the fraudsters cut off all contact and transactions with her.

Thane (Maharashtra) : Online conmen offered a 'work-from-home' job to a woman, lured her into cryptocurrency trading and eventually allegedly robbed her of Rs 14.30 lakh. Based on the complaint from a 50-year-old woman from Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, the police booked a case and began the investigation against four suspects, sources said.

It all began when the woman complainant responded to a WhatsApp message she received on his mobile phone last month. The fraudsters initially gave some online job works to her. They paid adequate amounts to her for some days. In due course of time, the conmen made the woman do transactions in crypto trading.

The victim woman could not suspect the true intentions of the fraudsters, who have been paying her well and also showing good returns in cryptocurrency trading initially. Suddenly, the conmen stopped sending any money to her and also stalled all their transactions with her. The woman's attempts to contact them via WhatsApp and other means went in vain.

As the digital fraudsters did not respond to her, the woman approached the NRI Sagari police station and lodged a written complaint. She told the police how she has been victimised by the online conmen. The woman has given details of her online conversation and transactions with four persons. Based on this, the investigating officials have launched a probe.

The police officials once again reiterated that the general public should not click on suspicious links sent by unknown and unreliable sources to their emails or phone numbers.