Trader loses 1.5 cr after ‘digital arrest' follows investment fraud
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Kolkata: A 56-year-old resident of Tollygunge fell victim to a combination of scams, involving cryptocurrency, investment, and share trading, followed by 'digital arrest' fraud and lost about Rs 1.5 crore through multiple transactions between May and June this year.
The victim, a trader by profession, has lodged a complaint at Regent Park Police Station.
The victim was lured into joining a legitimate WhatsApp group claiming to represent a share trading and securities firm on May 26.
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The group promised lucrative returns through Over The Counter (OTC) trading and IPO investments. The scammers then convinced him to join a Telegram group on June 6.
Over the next month, they convinced him to make several large transfers amounting lakhs of rupees through RTGS payment mode for investment purpose.
When he attempted to withdraw his funds on June 16, the fraudsters demanded a 20% short-term Capital gains tax payment, amounting to Rs 92 lakh.
The fraudsters claimed that the clearance of the tax was mandatory for processing of any withdrawal.Mimicking the 'digital arrest' modus operandi, the fraudsters threatened the victim of arrest for allegedly breaking SEBI and RBI norms. The victim borrowed money from family members and transferred about Rs 45 lakh in two instalments on June 19 and 20 to the accounts provided by the fraudsters.
When the victim discovered a LinkedIn post by the real president of the investment firm — whose identity was misused by the fraudsters to establish credibility — he realised that he had been cheated.
The Cyber Crime Division of Kolkata Police has initiated probe into the matter. Initial findings suggest this is part of a larger cryptocurrency trading scam targeting senior citizens. The police have formed a special team to track the digital footprint of the fraudsters and have frozen several accounts linked to the transactions. Authorities are also coordinating with the banks to trace the money trail.
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