Bengaluru Man Loses Rs 70 Lakh in Elaborate Bitcoin Investment Scam
A seemingly innocent reply to a mistakenly sent Telegram message has culminated in a devastating financial loss of Rs 70 lakh for a 50-year-old employee of a private firm in Bengaluru. The victim was systematically lured into a sophisticated bitcoin trading scam by an unknown woman operating under a false identity.
The Initial Contact and Building of Trust
According to a detailed complaint filed by a resident of Kodihalli in east Bengaluru, the incident began on November 30 of last year. The victim received a message on the Telegram messaging platform from a woman identifying herself as Priya Agarwal. She claimed to have been attempting to contact an individual named Rahul and had messaged the complainant by error.
Instead of disregarding the unsolicited communication, the man engaged in conversation. What started as a brief exchange rapidly evolved into regular chats, which subsequently migrated to the WhatsApp platform. Communicating from the international phone number +447490569470, Priya Agarwal presented herself as a businesswoman based in Liverpool, United Kingdom, managing a family enterprise.
Over a period of time, she meticulously cultivated his confidence. The conversations gradually shifted focus to the topic of online bitcoin trading. She boasted of earning substantial profits from this activity over the past four to five years, painting a picture of lucrative and reliable returns.
The Investment Trap and Escalating Losses
Capitalizing on the established rapport, Priya Agarwal persuaded the victim to invest in bitcoin trading. She offered personal guidance and assured him of quick and significant financial gains. Trusting her assurances, the victim clicked on a link she provided, which directed him to a fraudulent trading platform.
He proceeded to create an account on this platform. On December 9, 2025, he made his inaugural investment of Rs 50,000, transferring the sum to a bank account furnished by the platform's purported customer support team.
Encouraged by the impressive profits displayed on his account dashboard, he continued to invest more capital. Between December 9, 2025, and January 14, 2026, he executed a total of eight separate transactions. The cumulative amount transferred reached a staggering Rs 70 lakh.
To amass these funds, the victim reportedly secured loans from a bank and a finance company, in addition to investing his personal savings, all done under the persistent insistence of Priya Agarwal.
The Illusion of Profit and the Harsh Reality
On the trading platform's interface, his account soon showed accumulated profits soaring as high as Rs 2.6 crore. This fabricated figure served to reinforce his belief in the legitimacy of the investment venture.
The elaborate deception unraveled when he attempted to withdraw the purported profits. Despite repeated attempts, he found himself completely unable to access any funds. He soon discovered that his account had been frozen.
Upon contacting the customer support team, he was allegedly instructed to deposit additional money under various guises, including tax payments and processing fees, to facilitate the withdrawal. It was at this critical juncture that the victim realized he had fallen prey to an intricately planned cyber fraud scheme.
Police Intervention and Public Warning
The distraught man subsequently approached the authorities and lodged a formal complaint through the national cyber crime portal. The East Cyber Crime police station in Bengaluru has registered a case under the pertinent sections of the Information Technology Act and BNS section 318, which pertains to cheating.
An investigating officer emphasized the critical need for public vigilance. "We strongly caution the public against responding to messages from unknown individuals on social media and messaging platforms, especially those making promises of quick and high investment returns," the officer stated. The officer further highlighted that such "wrong message" conversations are increasingly being weaponized as traps by cyber fraudsters to initiate contact and build false trust with potential victims.
This case serves as a stark reminder of the sophisticated tactics employed by online scammers and the severe financial and emotional consequences for those who become ensnared.
