Worli woman loses Rs 13 lakh in Telegram cryptocurrency investment scam

Made her complete fake online ‘tasks’ for money. Pic/iStock

A 45-year-old woman from Worli, working as an insurance agent, lost Rs 13.08 lakh in an alleged cyber fraud that continued for over a month. The fraudsters lured her into cryptocurrency trading and investment activities by promising easy money and quick returns.

According to the cyber police, the accused posed as representatives of a company called "LTC COIN" and initially approached the woman with a part-time online job offer involving simple Telegram-based tasks. Police said the fraudsters later operated through Telegram groups, fake trading mentors and a bogus crypto dashboard to allegedly lure the victim into cryptocurrency trading and convince her to transfer money into multiple accounts.

The fraudsters allegedly spent over a month gradually gaining the victim's confidence instead of demanding large sums immediately. They initially paid her small commissions of Rs 120 and Rs 600 for completing online "tasks", making the operation appear genuine.

Police said that the scam was operated entirely through Telegram using multiple user IDs, group chats and "mentors". The victim was allegedly added to groups linked to "LTC COIN", where different handlers guided her through tasks, deposits and trading activities to create the impression of a professional investment network.