One 'Wrong Message' On Telegram Cost Him Rs 70 Lakh: How The Crypto Scam Unfolded

A simple Telegram chat turned into a crypto investment trap as fraudsters used fake dashboards and profit screenshots to convince a 50-year-old man to transfer nearly Rs 70 lakh across accounts.

What looked like a harmless chat slowly turned into a financial trap. 

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A shocking cyber fraud case has surfaced from Bengaluru, where a 50-year-old private company employee lost around Rs 70 lakh after being trapped in a fake Bitcoin investment scheme. The fraud is said to have started with a random Telegram message from a woman who claimed she contacted him by mistake. What looked like a harmless chat slowly turned into a financial trap. 

The accused built trust over weeks, showed fake trading profits, and convinced the victim to invest large sums through a fraudulent online platform link.

Bitcoin Investment Scam Started With Telegram Message

The victim first received a Telegram message from a woman who introduced herself as Priya. She said she was trying to contact someone else and sent the message by mistake. 

After a polite exchange, their chat continued and later shifted to WhatsApp. The woman claimed she worked for a London-based company and also handled her family business. Regular conversations helped her gain the victim’s confidence.

After some time, she began talking about Bitcoin trading. She said she had been earning strong profits for the last five years. She showed screenshots and stories of success to make it look real. 

She then shared an investment link and guided him step by step. The platform looked like a proper trading website, which made the victim feel safe about investing his money there.

Telegram Crypto Fraud Used Fake Trading Platform & Profit Dashboard

The man first invested Rs 50,000 through the platform in December. Soon, the dashboard started showing profits. Seeing returns grow on screen increased his confidence. 

Over time, he transferred nearly Rs 60 lakh into eight different bank accounts given by the fraudsters. Reports say he even took a bank loan to invest more money. The fake dashboard later showed profits of about Rs 2.6 crore.

The scam came to light when he tried to withdraw the profit but failed. Customer care numbers linked to the platform asked him to deposit more money to process the withdrawal. That raised suspicion. 

Realizing he had been cheated, the victim filed a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Portal. Authorities are now investigating the matter. This case again shows how social media and crypto promises are being misused to run online fraud.

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