Salt Lake bizman loses 4 crore to crypto fraud after honey trap on social media
Times of India | 12 September 2025
Kolkata: A 44-year-old businessman from Salt Lake was duped of Rs 3.8 crore after being lured into investing in a fake cryptocurrency platform by a woman he met on Facebook earlier this year.
According to the complaint lodged by Vikash Jhawar, a resident of AE Block in Salt Lake, he first got in touch with the woman, who introduced herself as Aadhya Gupta, on Facebook. After several days of interaction and conversations online, the woman suggested that Jhawar invest in a cryptocurrency platform promising unusually high returns.
Believing the opportunity to be genuine, Jhawar began investing in the platform starting from July 17.
Over a period of time, he transferred Rs 3.8 crore in multiple tranches, using RTGS transfers from his bank accounts. He was further encouraged to borrow additional money from friends and relatives to continue investing, as the platform presented itself as highly profitable.
"I started investing funds in this platform through multiple RTGS transfers from my bank accounts. I also borrowed money from my friends and relatives to invest more because the platform promised attractive returns," he wrote in his plaint.
The platform's wallet interface showed a balance of USD 20,17,027, which at current exchange rates amounted to approximately Rs 178.5 crore. This displayed balance gave Jhawar the impression that his investments were growing significantly, reinforcing his decision to invest more.
However, the situation began to unravel when Jhawar decided to withdraw part of the supposed profit on Sept 8. At that point, the platform's WhatsApp support service demanded he pay a 15% tax on profit before processing the withdrawal.
When he raised questions, further demands for payments followed, and his withdrawal requests were repeatedly denied.
Sensing irregularities, Jhawar grew suspicious that the entire operation was a scam and that his funds were diverted to fraudulent accounts. He then filed a complaint through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and approached the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime PS. The case was registered under various sections of the IPC, primarily related to cheating and fraud.
Police are now looking for Gupta and her network of associates. Efforts are also underway to identify and freeze the bank accounts where the defrauded money was transferred.
"We always urge people to remain cautious about unsolicited investment schemes, particularly those promoted on social media. One should also avoid financial dealings under the advice of lesser-known acquaintances or newly formed relationships," said a senior officer of Bidhannagar Commissionerate.