Hyderabad: The Cyberabad cyber crime police refunded the amount to the victim who lost the money in crypto currency through a fake online investment scheme.
According to the police, the victim, a resident of Hyderabad, was added to a fake WhatsApp group named MC-VIP-BTC-GROUP-888/702, where he was lured into crypto currency trading using a third-party application. The accused shared fraudulent links like, https://gigcps.com and https://app.tradingtopshots.com and convinced the victim to transfer 24,275.8 USD (Rs 20,39,175) to various private wallets on the pretext of trading contracts and high returns.
On realising that he was cheated, the victim approached the cyber crime police.
On complaint, the cyber crime police registered a case U/s 420 IPC and Sec 66-D of IT Act, 2000-2008. Based on investigation, the flow of funds was analysed and it was found that a significant portion of the defrauded amount had been transferred to a wallet associated with an international crypto currency exchange located in Seychelles, Africa.
A notice was sent to the exchanger requesting wallet and KYC details. The exchanger responded with the account holder’s information, confirming the available balance of 0.03979 BTC ($3,746.58 USD) approximately Rs 3,22,205 in the suspect’s wallet.
Following this, the cyber crime team approached the court and secured a debit freeze order. Later, the court passed a refund order upon submission of all the relevant documents and transactions flow details, directing the exchanger to refund the frozen funds to the victim.
Following the court’s direction, the exchanger refunded 3,125.42 USDT approximately Rs 2,68,786 to the victim’s wallet.
The Cyberabad cyber crime police have issued a warning to the public, urging caution while dealing with online investment or trading schemes. Citizens are advised not to respond to unsolicited messages received via WhatsApp, Telegram, or other platforms that promise quick profits or request the installation of unknown applications. Authorities emphasise the importance of reporting any such suspicious activity to the nearest police station or cyber crime unit
without delay.