Hyderabad: A 52-year-old housewife from Saroornagar lost Rs 1.2 lakh in a bitcoin trading scam after being lured through a social media ad, which was originally working part-time. It started out as a seemingly harmless opportunity to quickly earn additional income and become a complex fraud.
The victim clicked on the ad, which redirected her to an unknown conversation. The person on the other side pretends to be a representative of the work at work online and convinces her that she can complete simple tasks like “like” videos, which can earn Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 a day. Initially, she made a small profit, which strengthened her confidence.
As trust was established, the scammer identified herself as Ravindra Prathabb, introducing her to Bitcoin transactions. He showed her images, depicting high rewards and explaining the process. She first invested Rs 3,000 and received a return of Rs 3,900. Inspired by her, she gradually increased her investment by shifting more volumes in 23 transactions.
Despite seeing her growing balance on the fraudster’s platform, she still couldn’t withdraw any money. When she tried to do so, the fraudster claimed her account was frozen and asked for an additional Rs 4 lakh unlock. She realized she had been deceived and immediately called the cybercrime hotline in 1930 and filed a complaint with the Rachakonda cybercrime police.
Police warn that scammers often start with small-scale legal tasks to build trust before they can push their victims toward greater investments. They urge people to be cautious and avoid such deceptive online programs.
