Chandigarh: Man duped of over 6k dollars in crypto fraud

A local businessman from Chandigarh has fallen victim to a cryptocurrency scam, losing 6,107 USDT (tether) to an alleged online fraud network. The victim, Nitin Kumar, a resident of Sector 30-B, reported the case to the police after realising he was tricked into investing in a fraudulent trading platform.

According to the FIR, Nitin Kumar, who runs a coaching centre, received a Facebook friend request in November 2023 from an account appearing to belong to a woman. The person behind the account engaged in frequent chats with him and later offered him a part-time job involving investments in USDT through a website.

Initially, Kumar followed the instructions given and was assured salary payments every 10 days. However, after eight days, he was made to commit a mistake, leading to non-payment. Later, he was encouraged to invest his own money in the platform, promising high returns.

On January 4, 2024, he converted his money into 1,106 USDT and invested in the platform. He later added another 5,001 USDT on January 22, 2024, transferring a total of 6,107 USDT from his account to a so-called customer care number linked to the scam network.

Kumar continued playing the game and even accumulated 10,101 USDT in winnings. However, his account was suddenly blocked, and he was informed that he needed to deposit 20,000 USDT to unlock his funds. Realising he had been scammed, he approached the police to take legal action and recover his money

Based on Kumar’s complaint, the Chandigarh Police have registered a case under Section 419 (Cheating by impersonation), Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The FIR has been lodged against unknown persons, and an investigating officer from the cyber crime unit has taken up the investigation.