Sunil Lohan
A 50-year-old private firm employee has allegedly been cheated of Rs.70 lakh by a woman he befriended online, who lured him into a fake bitcoin investment scheme, police said.
According to the complaint filed with the East Division cyber crime police on Monday,the victim stated that on November 30, 2025,he was contacted on Telegram by a woman identifying herself as Priya Agarwal,who claimed she had mistakenly tried to reach another person.
The two later began chatting on WhatsApp,where the woman said she was residing in Liverpool,UK,and running a family business.
The accused allegedly gained the victim’s trust and claimed that she had been earning substantial profits through online bitcoin trading for the past four to five years.
She persuaded the complainant to invest,promising quick and high returns,and shared a trading link through which he created an account.
Between December 9,2025, and January 14,2026,the complainant transferred money in eight separate transactions to bank accounts shared by persons claiming to be customer support executives.
The funds were transferred through IMPS from his HDFC Bank account.
Senior officer said the victim invested a total of Rs.70 lakh,including money taken as loans from HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance Ltd,apart from his personal savings.
Though the trading account showed profits of up to Rs.2.6 crore, the complainant was unable to withdraw any amount as the account was later frozen.
When he questioned the accused,he was allegedly asked to deposit additional funds under various pretexts.Suspecting fraud,the victim realised he had been cheated.
The complainant has lodged a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Portal,seeking legal action against the accused and recovery of the defrauded amount.Further investigation is underway.
