Police warned that scammers often start with small, seemingly legitimate tasks to build trust before pushing victims into larger investments
Hyderabad: A 52-year-old housewife from Saroornagar lost Rs.12 lakh in a bitcoin trading scam after being lured in through a social media advertisement which was originally for a part-time job. What began as a seemingly harmless opportunity to earn extra income quickly spiralled into a complex fraud.
The victim clicked on the ad, which redirected her to a conversation with an unknown number. The person on the other end pretended to be a representative of an online work-from-home job and convinced her that she could earn between Rs.1,000 and Rs.2,000 daily by completing simple tasks, such as ‘liking’ videos. Initially, she received small profits, which boosted her confidence.
As trust was established, the scammer, identifying himself as Ravindra Prathabb, introduced her to bitcoin trading. He showed her images depicting high returns and explained the process. She first invested Rs.3,000 and received Rs.3,900 in return. Encouraged, she gradually increased her investments by transferring bigger amounts in 23 transactions.
Despite seeing her balance grow on the scammer’s platform, she was unable to withdraw any money. When she attempted to do so, the fraudsters claimed her account had been frozen and demanded an additional Rs.4 lakh to unlock it. Realising she had been duped, she immediately called the cybercrime helpline on 1930 and filed a complaint with the Rachakonda cybercrime police.
Police warned that scammers often start with small, seemingly legitimate tasks to build trust before pushing victims into larger investments. They urged people to remain cautious and avoid falling for such deceptive online schemes.
