A 60-year-old contractor from Vashi, Navi Mumbai, has fallen victim to a cunning cryptocurrency scam, losing over Rs 52 lakh to fraudsters who lured him with promises of high returns through a fake trading platform, police revealed on Thursday. The incident, part of a rising wave of cyber frauds in the region, has prompted a police investigation and a public warning to exercise caution with unverified investment schemes.

The scam began four months ago when fraudsters contacted the victim via phone, building trust by showcasing fabricated gains on a fraudulent cryptocurrency trading website. Convinced by the allure of quick profits, the contractor transferred Rs 52,28,000 into multiple bank accounts provided by the scammers between March and July 2025. However, when he attempted to withdraw his funds, he found himself blocked from the website, with no way to recover his investment, according to Senior Inspector Gajanan Kadam of the Navi Mumbai Cyber Police Station.

Following the victim’s complaint, the police registered a case on July 29 against four unidentified individuals under sections 318(4) (cheating) and 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Preliminary investigations revealed that the website was not registered with any regulatory authority, such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) or the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The domain creator and holders of the bank accounts used in the scam are now primary suspects, with police tracing digital footprints and financial transactions to nab the culprits.

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This case adds to a disturbing trend of cryptocurrency scams in Navi Mumbai. In a similar incident in September 2024, a 48-year-old man lost Rs 87 lakh to fraudsters via a WhatsApp group promoting USDT investments. Earlier, in January 2024, a 37-year-old resident was duped of Rs 19 lakh, and in March, another lost Rs 10.61 lakh. The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) reported 20,043 trading scam cases nationwide from January to April 2024, with losses totaling Rs 14,204 crore, underscoring the growing menace of cyber fraud.

Inspector Kadam urged the public to verify investment platforms thoroughly. “No legitimate platform operates through unsolicited calls or unregistered websites. Always check for SEBI or RBI authorization before investing,” he said. The police have frozen several bank accounts linked to such scams, including Rs 32.66 crore in a 2023 case, and are collaborating with banks and telecom providers to trace fraudsters, many of whom operate from Southeast Asian hubs like Cambodia and Myanmar.

As the investigation continues, authorities are appealing to citizens to report suspicious schemes immediately and avoid transferring funds to unverified entities, emphasizing that due diligence is critical in the volatile world of cryptocurrency investments.

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