Crypto fraud: Youth loses Rs 5 lakh in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: A 21-year-old youth has allegedly lost Rs 5 lakh to a conman who promised to purchase cryptocurrency for him and help him get high returns.
On Sunday, Manoj Gowda of Tilaknagar filed a cheating complaint against a person identified as Srinivas, who claimed to be a chartered accountant. Byatarayanapura police registered a cheating and cybercrime case and efforts are on to trace and arrest the suspect.
Gowda told police that he met Srinivas in April and they became friends. Srinivas told him that he had invested in cryptocurrency and it was bringing him good returns. Srinivas asked Gowda also to invest money in cryptocurrency. Gowda agreed, met Srinivas in a hotel near the satellite bus stand on Mysuru Road and gave him Rs 5 lakh in cash.
"In April, Srinivas convinced me that the value of cryptocurrency dropped and assured me that it could fetch good profits if I invested at that time. I gave him Rs 5 lakh and he promised me that he would purchase cryptocurrency and send it to me in a few days. But neither did he send cryptocurrency nor return my money," Gowda stated in his complaint.