Bengaluru contractor loses Rs 5.35 crore in online trading scam

Bengaluru: A 48-year-old city-based contractor has lodged a complaint with the North-East CEN police after being duped of Rs 5.35 crore in an online trading scam involving forex and cryptocurrency investments.

A senior police officer said Narasimha Reddy, a resident of Judicial Layout, alleged in his complaint that he came in contact with a person named Alakanandha through Facebook on August 10.

He was convinced that Alakanandha's uncle was doing well in online trading and suggested Reddy do the same. The duo then began chatting on WhatsApp to discuss the trading and profit process.

A few days later, the accused convinced Reddy to invest in crypto and forex trading, promising high profits. The accused sent a link and asked Reddy to register and open an account on the platform.

Reddy followed the instructions and began transferring money from his various bank accounts, the police officer added.

Initially, Reddy was promised a 3% commission. Later, he was told he needed to upgrade to a “VIP customer” by paying an additional 5% to withdraw his profits.

Believing the claim, Reddy made multiple transactions, transferring a total of Rs 5.35 crore, including Rs 35 lakh as commission.

However, once the transactions were completed, the accused stopped all correspondence, and Reddy realised he had been duped. He then lodged a complaint through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and called Cyber Helpline 1930, the police officer said.

CEN police have launched an investigation into the online fraud, which appears to be part of a wider international trading scam network. Further investigations are ongoing.