Bengaluru Man Duped of ₹42.6 Lakh in Telegram-Based Crypto Trading Scam
45-year-old investor says fraudsters tricked him with false profits and forced payments for fictitious charges.
A 45-year-old Bengaluru resident has filed a police complaint alleging that he lost ₹42.62 lakh to a crypto-trading scam operated through Telegram.
According to the FIR lodged on November 14, the victim, identified as Shakthivel E, said he was first contacted on Instagram by an individual who later added him to a Telegram group supposedly offering guidance on cryptocurrency trading. The group was reportedly led by a man calling himself Ashutosh Sharma.
Shakthivel was promised a profitable seven-day trading plan on Ethereum/USD pairs, along with a 15% commission on any earnings. To build his confidence, the scammers initially sent him small returns from different bank accounts.
The victim told police that the trading platform eventually showed a balance of 138,687.22 USDT in his digital wallet. But when he tried to withdraw the amount, the platform claimed his bank details were incorrect and demanded ₹4 lakh to “fix” the issue. Soon after, he was told to pay additional charges, including late fees, USD-to-INR conversion fees, and even a fake “RBI tax.”
To keep up with these demands, Shakthivel took loans from Bajaj Finance, the Axio app, friends, and other personal sources. The amounts were transferred through various bank accounts and UPI IDs linked to the scammers.
Between July 3 and August 1, he ended up transferring a total of ₹42,62,081 — but could not withdraw any money from the platform. Realising he had been cheated, he approached the police for legal action and help in recovering his losses.
Investigators are now examining the details provided in the complaint, including the crypto wallet address, contact numbers, and the suspicious website used for the alleged trading activity.
