A 60-year-old Indian woman recently fell victim to a crypto investment scam and lost nearly $30,000. The woman, who had registered on a matrimonial site to look for a life partner, was approached by a man who claimed to be a US-based engineer. He promised her quick profits through bitcoin investments.
The woman invested nearly $30,000 in cryptocurrencies through a person who was introduced to her by the con man. When she asked to withdraw her money, she was told she needed to pay a currency conversion fee and taxes equivalent to $15,000.
The duo stopped communicating, and her virtual account became dysfunctional. The woman lodged a complaint with the police, and a case has been registered under relevant sections of cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.
This is not the first crypto scam reported in Mumbai, India. In a similar incident, a 49-year-old woman was duped of nearly $12,500 when she was looking for a work-from-home opportunity and was asked by the fraudsters to invest in bitcoins. She was asked to pay close to $10,000 just to withdraw her money.