Chandigarh resident duped of Rs 6.5 lakh

A 46-year-old resident of Sector 45-D here has been duped of Rs 6.58 lakh in a crypto currency scam via Telegram. An FIR was lodged at the cybercrime police station on Saturday, following a complaint by Bhajan Singh, a local Uber driver.

The victim came into contact with a person who was using the Telegram handle @Ayushthakur_Hentor1 in December last year. The accused convinced him to invest in crypto currency through a platform called UCoin. Bhajan Singh was assigned various tasks and further directed to two other Telegram handles – @UCOIN_Account_Team and @Akshara_Finance – where he was provided UPI and bank details for transferring money.

Initially, the fraudsters sent him small returns to gain his trust. Soon, they claimed his money was on hold and pressurised him to invest larger sums to unlock it. The victim was made to transfer a total of Rs 6,58,417. Eventually, all contact ceased and no returns were transferred to the victim.

The FIR has been registered under multiple Sections 319(2), 318(4), 336(3), 338, 340(2), and 61(2) of the BNS. The police is investigating the matter.