A 70-year-old auditor from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh has reportedly lost Rs 21.06 crore after being lured into a fake cryptocurrency and online trading investment scheme that began with a WhatsApp message.
The victim, Ashok Vijayvargiya, who is also the chairman of the state’s trade and industry department chamber, received a message in late December last year from a person claiming to be an “investment adviser” named Divya. The sender promised quick, high returns through crypto and online trading.
Believing the pitch, Vijayvargiya opened an account through a link to a fraudulent website and began with small investments. To build trust, the scammers credited him with a profit of Rs 1.88 lakh. Later, the fake platform displayed digital entries showing that his investments had generated profits of more than Rs 33 crore.
Over the next seven months, he transferred money from four different bank accounts through more than 100 online transactions, sending the funds to bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. He also invested money collected from relatives and friends.
When he tried to withdraw the invested amount and the displayed profits, the group allegedly refused and gave evasive replies. They then demanded an additional Rs 10.34 crore in the name of tax, commission and processing fees, after which he realised he had been cheated and filed a police complaint. Police have so far been able to freeze only Rs 2 crore, and the remaining money is believed to have been moved across multiple accounts.
