Thane Doctor duped of over Rs 30 Lakh in Cryptocurrency fraud
Thane: A 42-year-old doctor from Dombivli in the Thane district of Maharashtra, fell victim to a
cryptocurrency scam, losing more than ₹30 lakh, according to local police.
The
incident reportedly occurred between August 2 and 6, as per the complaint filed
by the victim at Manpada police station in the Kalyan division.
The doctor was allegedly
coaxed into investing in cryptocurrency by an unidentified caller, who
convinced her of high returns. Trusting the fraudster, she transferred the money,
only to realize later that she had been defrauded. The Manpada police have launched
an investigation into the case, but no arrests have been made so far, reports PTI.
“As per the complaint,
the doctor received a call claiming that a parcel allegedly sent by her to
Thailand on July 24 contained suspicious items. The caller falsely stated that
the parcel included three passports, three SIM cards and MD drugs, among other
things,” an official of Manpada police station in Kalyan division said.
The victim was then
tricked into downloading a mobile application and was lured into purchasing
cryptocurrency worth Rs 30,86,535. She transferred the amount to different bank
accounts as instructed, he said, adds PTI.
A similar incident occurred last year in Mumbai, a senior doctor lost around Rs 1.1 crore on the
pretext of getting huge returns on cryptocurrency investment. The complaint was
filed by a 46-year-old man, a senior gynaecologist from central Mumbai at the central cybercrime police station of the crime branch. Following the guidelines provided by a certain woman on
online trading investment, the doctor was cheated and lost all the money in the
process.
Cryptocurrencies such as
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others are not illegal in India, but they lack clear
regulatory guidelines. The Indian government is working on a framework to
regulate crypto in India and address associated risks and concerns.
