Woman loses Rs 1.2 crore in investment scam, says I had no option but to deposit money

A 61-year-old government employee from Shahdara became a victim of a massive investment fraud, losing Rs 1.2 crore to scammers pretending to be agents of a counterfeit UK-based online shopping site. The con artists tempted the woman into making an investment by guaranteeing substantial profits, and throughout 78 days, she was deceived into putting in her savings. The fraudulent scheme began with a deceptive social media account that the woman assumed was real.

The official detailed that the scam started when she engaged with someone pretending to be a “friend” on social media in October of the previous year. The person asserted they were a successful seller on the platform and persuaded the woman to sign up for the app, which was portrayed as an online marketplace. The con artist guaranteed her that she had been making substantial gains for the last two years and that the woman could achieve the same results. The discussion subsequently shifted to WhatsApp, where the victim received instructions on investing her funds.

Believing the scammer, the woman signed up on the fraudulent platform and started completing orders for the app with her own money. Throughout the time, she managed 56 orders valued at almost $1.28 lakh (approximately Rs 1 crore), and the platform displayed a significant profit for her. Nonetheless, when she tried to take out her profits, the fraudsters started to create barriers. They told her that she had failed to complete certain orders punctually, which supposedly harmed her credit score on the app. To regain her credit and allow the withdrawal, the fraudsters insisted on a deposit of Rs 35 lakh.

Feeling constrained and anxious to retrieve her money, the woman obeyed the request and completed the deposit. Nonetheless, the withdrawal procedure faced additional delays, and she was requested to contribute an extra Rs 34.5 lakh to enable the withdrawal feature. To fulfill these needs, the woman had to borrow against her provident fund, depleting all her assets. Even after the payments were made, the fraudsters kept hindering her withdrawal using different excuses.

“I had no choice but to pay the amount.” “After I deposited the money, my credit score was restored, and the customer service team informed me that I could take out my wallet funds,” she stated.  The woman ultimately understood she had been deceived after speaking with a cousin in the UK, who found out that the platform was a scam. By then, the woman had completely lost all of her investment. She has now lodged a complaint with the police, who are looking into the issue.