The Indian police have released a statement noting that two senior Indian citizens have been duped of more than Rs. 3.2 crore ($355,654) by scammers. According to the statement, the pair lost the funds after the criminals convinced them to invest in a fake crypto and stock trading platform.
The Indian police mentioned that the criminals targeted the residents because of their age, noting that they had little or no knowledge about how crypto worked. The victims were just looking for ways to double their income and make profits, according to the police statement. The first victim filed a complaint alleging that he lost more than Rs. 2.58 crore ($310,000) to the criminals, while the second victim told the police that he lost Rs 63.15 lakh ($76,000) to criminals using the same format.
Senior Indian citizens lose funds to fake crypto investment platforms
According to the complaint filed by the first victim, he was approached by the administrator of a Telegram group after he found himself in a group that he identified as AP Helping Hand India. The administrator introduced himself as Aman Kumar, and he trades stock for a living. The victim claimed that the scammer told him he had several ways to help him make money, but promised to help him make high returns from cryptocurrency arbitrage.
The victim claimed that after he agreed to invest, he paid an initial Rs. 8,500 or $100 registration fee in September 2025. After the payment, he was asked to download Base, a crypto wallet, through a link that was provided to him by the scammers. In addition, he was asked to share his personal and banking details before he began to invest using the application. The Indian police said that after he invested, the scammers took control of his account.
In the statement released by the Indian police, they said the scammers claimed it was the only way they could help him maximize returns on his investments. Police mentioned that the account was operated by one of the fraudsters who claimed he was Ajit Doval, the profit distribution manager of the platform. After a while, the scammers showed the victim a fake dashboard which had an account balance of Rs. 4.55 crore or $5.48 million.
Scammers are now targeting elderly victims
The police mentioned that showing the big balance was a play the scammers run to force the victims into making bigger deposits. Between September 4 and December 27, the victim transferred more than Rs. 2.58 crore or $310,000 to the criminals for investments, taxes, and transaction charges. The problem started after he tried to make multiple withdrawals, and they all failed, even after he paid additional taxes to be able to withdraw the funds.
The victim claimed he confronted the fraudsters after encountering issues with withdrawals, but they asked him to pay an additional Rs. 80 lakh or $96,000 to process the withdrawal. It was then that the victim realized he had been scammed and reported to the Rachakonda cybercrime police. The Indian police claimed they have filed a report under the relevant sections of the BNS along with Sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act.
In the second case, the 69-year-old retired Bank manager lost more than Rs. 63.15 lakh or $76,000 after he was contacted by someone on WhatsApp claiming to be a stockbroker in the United States. Police said the victim was lured into registering on a fake portal and initially invested Rs. 13.56 lakh or $16,300. Subsequently, the victim was asked to pay additional amounts, which drove the entire figure towards Rs. 63.15 or $76,000. After exhausting his entire savings, he realized it was a scam and approached the police.
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