Online scams are running rampant in India, and throughout the course of last year, we have seen many new scams affecting Indian citizens, with one of these scams being investment scams on platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp. In this scam, fraudsters come with investment opportunities and promise significant returns for your money. However, once victims invest, the scammers keep them in the loop, ask them to invest more, and later deny profits. By the time victims realise what has happened, it’s usually too late.
In a recent incident involving the same scam, an engineer from Delhi named Ankit Chaudhary lost Rs 12 lakh. He reportedly came across a Telegram message that offered him an opportunity to invest in cryptocurrency and, in return, make substantial returns on his investment, as per a report by ANI.
Chaudhary mistook it for a real money-making opportunity and invested Rs 10,000. He did receive Rs 15,000 in return, and this was a ploy by the scammers to fixate him into the scam and earn trust. Based on this, the scammers were able to convince him to invest more, and he ended up investing a whopping Rs 12,00,000.
“I received a message on a Telegram channel asking me to invest in cryptocurrency. Initially, I invested 10 thousand, and after some time, I received 15 thousand in return,” the victim told ANI. “Subsequently, I invested 15 thousand, and similarly, I received 20 thousand. Due to this, I became greedy and invested about ? 12 lakh in different transactions, but I did not get my money back,” he added.
Once he realised what had transpired, the man filed an FIR, and now, a case has been registered under Section 420 at the Cyber Police Station of Delhi’s North East district.
To be safe from scams of this nature, no matter how lucrative an opportunity might seem, always double-check or triple-check. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is. Also, look for inconsistencies in the language of the scammers. Generally, scammers often make grammar and spelling errors and may even present you with a poorly formatted message. Secondly, never share your personal information such as Aadhar number, bank details, OTPs with anyone, as this can pose further problems for you.
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