# A 37-year-old businessman has fallen prey to cryptocurrency investment fraud by a scammer whom he had connected with on Facebook.

*fintech · news · 2026-06-09 · Free Press Journal*

## Key points

- A Nagpur businessman lost over Rs 54 lakh in a cryptocurrency scam initiated via Facebook.
- The scammer provided initial returns to build trust before requesting larger investments from the victim.
- The trading website showed profits but blocked withdrawals, repeatedly demanding additional payments.
- Police registered the case under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act, including identity theft charges.

Mumbai, June 9: A 37-year-old businessman has fallen prey to cryptocurrency investment fraud by a scammer whom he had connected with on Facebook. How the scam unfolded According to the police, the victim is a resident of Nagpur. A few months ago, while checking his Facebook profile, the victim came across a message from a woman. After the initial conversation, the woman shared her contact numbers with the victim, and the two began chatting regularly. During one of the conversations, the scammer told the victim that she is into cryptocurrency trading and shared details about the profit she had earned through crypto trading. She then sent a cryptocurrency website link to the victim and asked him to open a trading account on the said website. Financial loss On the initial investment of Rs 10,000, the victim received Rs 13,500, after which he decided to invest further. The victim ended up transferring over Rs 54 lakh to different beneficiary bank accounts on the instructions of the scammers. Though the victim was able to see his profit on his trading account, he was unable to withdraw the funds. When the victim confronted the scammers, they repeatedly asked him to pay more money to release his earnings. Later, the scammers stopped responding to the victim’s calls, and his trading account also became non-operational. Realising he had been duped, the victim approached the police and had an offence registered. Also Watch: Legal action A case has been registered under sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation), 336 (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), and 340 (forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with sections 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.

**Countries:** India

[Read the full story on Free Press Journal](https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/maharashtra-cyber-fraud-37-year-old-nagpur-businessman-duped-of-over-54-lakh-in-crypto-trading-scam-after-facebook-friendship-case-registered)

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