Pune police launched a probe into a suspected cryptocurrency investment scam. (File Representational Photo) PUNE City Police have launched a probe into a suspected cryptocurrency investment scam in which two firms registered in Pune sought money from investors promising high returns on investment into Bitcoins through the application developed by them. Till now at least eight investors including a doctor from Mumbai have approached the police saying that they have been cheated to the tune of Rs 1.5 crores by the proprietors of the company.
A First Information Report in the case was registered on Sunday afternoon based on a complaint filed by a doctor from Mulund area of Mumbai who has invested around Rs 25 lakh through the accused companies. The two firms, according to police, are registered to an address in Pune and had started seeking investments from people around May last year.
“The proprietors of the two firms asked interested parties to invest into Bitcoins through applications they claimed they had developed. On the investments in the first scheme, the firms promised doubling of the money in 12 months. And in the second scheme, the firms promised 15 percent of the invested amount every month, for a duration of 15 months. The firms started taking money in May last year and the proprietors allegedly fled their offices around October. They have since been untraceable. ” said an officer from Yerawada police station.
“Till now eight investors have approached us saying that they have been duped of a total of Rs 1.47 crores. Some of these investors are from various places in Mumbai including Mulund, Panvel, Dombivli and some from other places including Aurangabad. We have reasons to believe that the number of people who have been cheated in this suspected scam is much more. We are working on various leads.”
As reported by the Indian Express earlier this year, the number of complaints to Pune police from people cheated by making promises of large returns on investment in various cryptocurrency rose from 71 in 2021 to 154 in 2022.
Officials have said that with an increasing number of people investing in the virtual currency for higher returns, the fraudulent platforms cheating people are also coming up in large numbers.
Cyber crime investigators in Pune said that these frauds they have probed have been perpetrated in broadly three ways. In some cases cyber criminals seek investment from people promising high returns on investment into known cryptocurrencies. In some cases cyber fraudsters claim to have created their own cryptocurrencies and cheat the investors through them. While in some cases suspects put up fraudulent exchanges for well known virtual currencies and flee with investors’ money.