Hubballi man loses Rs 1.30 cr, Davanagere woman Rs 25.9 lakh to cyber scammers

HUBBALLI, DAVANAGERE: A Hubballi resident lost Rs 1.30 crore after falling prey to an online cryptocurrency scam. This is the second such case within a week in the Hubballi-Dharwad police commissionerate limits.

Abraham J from Hubballi, was contacted by a woman named Diya Khanna on Facebook, who promised him high returns on investment in cryptocurrency. She sent him a link to a website on Messenger, where he registered and started transferring money after sending a message saying “I want to buy USDT” .

Initially, the website showed profits, encouraging Abraham to invest more. However, when he tried to withdraw his money, he realized he’d been scammed and lost Rs 1.30 crore. A case has been registered at the CEN police station and investigation is under way.

In another incident, a 35-year-old woman from Davangere was cheated of Rs 25.93 lakh by a man who promised her a job in the railway department. The accused, Madhu, hailing from Mandya, met the woman through a matrimony website and gained her trust. He promised to get her brothers a job in the railway department and asked her to transfer money to his account.

The woman transferred Rs 25.93 lakh to Madhu’s account in installments, but he failed to keep his promise. When she realized she’d been cheated, she filed a complaint with the CEN police station and an investigation is under way.