Friendship turns sour; B'luru engineer loses Rs 95 lakh in Bitcoin scam

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A 53-year-old citybased engineer fell victim to a scam, losing Rs 95 lakh to a fraudster who convinced him to invest in bitcoins with the promise of substantial returns.

The victim, residing in the Shantinagar in Bengaluru, recounted that he met a woman named Sonia Shenoy on social media in 2021, who claimed to work for a multinational investment company specialising in bitcoins.

Trusting her, he invested the specified amount between January 2022 and 2023.

According to the sources, the interaction began on Instagram with the woman informing him in July that his profit had reached Rs 2 crore, but he needed to pay Rs 50 lakh for TDS (Tax Deducted at Source).

Despite arranging the amount through personal loans from various banks, the promised Rs 2 crore never materialised, leaving the man realising that he had been deceived.

This incident is not isolated, as various gullible citizens in the city are losing their hard-earned money to scammers who promise higher returns for their investments.

A case has bee registered an probe is underway by the Cyber Police.