BENGALURU: A man in western Bengaluru lost ₹44 lakh after a relationship blossomed online and led to a fake Bitcoin investment pitch. Police say the fraud began when the victim met a woman posing as “Archana” on Instagram, who soon introduced him to a bogus crypto trading platform.
Love Leads to Investment Trap
According to Karnataka’s cybercrime division, the victim exchanged messages with “Archana” over several days before she shared a link to a counterfeit Bitcoin portal promising “high returns.” Starting with small deposits, he was persuaded to bank more funds as the platform showed incremental profits. When he tried to withdraw the earnings, the site demanded additional payments to “unlock withdrawals,” and communication gradually ceased. By then, ₹44 lakh had been siphoned from his accounts. He realised the deceit only after consulting friends and lodged a complaint at Central CEN Crime Police Station. Investigators suspect the fraud is part of a larger network exploiting romantic trust for financial gain.
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Modern Romance, Age‑Old Scams
This deception isn’t an isolated case. Similar incidents have surfaced nationwide: two Mumbai men were duped of ₹74 lakh in equivalent schemes, while a Bengaluru businessman lost ₹38.8 lakh after falling for an “invest and earn” ruse. Another prominent case involved a BIM techie conned of ₹79.3 lakh by a bogus “UK bride” offering crypto returns. Cybercrime experts emphasise that fraudsters often leverage dating platforms—Instagram, matrimonial sites, WhatsApp—to gain victims’ trust before steering them toward fictitious crypto or investment sites.
Authorities urge caution: verify profiles, avoid clicking unsolicited links, and never invest based on someone online. Bengaluru’s cybercrime unit is tracing the bank accounts used and seeking to dismantle the fraud syndicate behind this coronavirus-spurred trend.
