A jeweller from Panchkula has been robbed of a stagnant amount of ₹9.68 crores by online scammers. This unfortunate event shows that financial frauds online are increasingly becoming risky and there is a need for due diligence when presented with unfamiliar investment offers.
Lalit Singla, a resident of Sector 7, Panchkula aged 48 reported the incident to the police. Singla said he was lured into becoming a part of a WhatsApp public group meant for stock trade by the link in December 2023.
Over several months, the fraudsters gained Singla’s trust within the group. In March 2024, they convinced him to invest in cryptocurrency through a supposedly legitimate exchange. Singla believed in the platform’s legitimacy and registered an account to invest huge money. The account was opened by Singla and he invested 9.68 crore Rupees through April, May, and June in 2024, amounting to super high figures over two quarters.
However, the con artists provided a barrier when Singla tried to withdraw his money. They made a demand for a 10% deposit of the whole amount deposited, which is a standard strategy employed by con artists to extract more money from their targets. After Singla complied with this demand, instead of receiving his invested amount, he was sent an Apple iPhone via courier. Further investigation revealed that the website he was directed to for the cryptocurrency exchange was a fake.
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After coming to this knowledge, on June 28, 2024, Singla went to the Panchkula police and reported the occurrence. A case has been filed by the police under many IPC provisions, such as fraud, deception, and criminal conspiracy. These sections cover the many misleading strategies used by the con artists during the deception.
When it comes to unsolicited investment offers, investors need to be cautious. Especially, the ones which come through social media or the internet. The most vital thing to do is to ascertain if the investment platform is credible or not instead of making hasty decisions just from online advice. The story of Lalit Singla highlights the substantial financial losses that may result from becoming a victim of these types of fraud. The investigation conducted by the Panchkula Police is still underway, and the goal is to catch the people behind this massive scam.
