Indian seniors lose money due to fake cryptocurrency investments

Indian police say two elderly citizens have been scammed out of over 3.2 crore rupees (approximately 355,000 USD) through a fake cryptocurrency and stock investment platform. The scammers deliberately target seniors, who have limited knowledge of digital assets, by promising high returns and quick income.

In the first case, the victim was approached via a Telegram group and persuaded to invest in a fake cryptocurrency arbitrage business model. After paying an initial registration fee, he was asked to download a digital wallet from a suspicious link and provide personal and banking information. The scammer then took control of the account, displayed fake profit balances, and continuously demanded additional money to “invest,” “pay taxes,” and “withdraw funds.” When unable to withdraw money, the victim realized he had been duped.

In the second case, a former bank manager lost over 63 lakh rupees after being contacted via WhatsApp by someone claiming to be a stockbroker in the US and lured into investing in a fake trading portal.