A 40-year-old diamond trader, Naresh Chhotala, from Surat was scammed out of Rs68.69 lakh in an online cryptocurrency fraud. Chhotala filed a complaint with the Surat Cybercrime Police on August 28, detailing how he was deceived by a fake cryptocurrency platform.
The fraud began when a woman, who identified herself as Meghna Prabhu, contacted Chhotala on Facebook on May 7. She promised him high returns if he invested in USDT, a cryptocurrency issued by Tether. Intrigued by the lucrative offer, Chhotala agreed to invest and was directed to download the Weak app .
Once he installed the app on June 2, Chhotala was instructed to transfer Rs85,000 to a designated bank account. The transfer was reflected as 1,018 USDT in his Zaif account. Encouraged by the apparent profits, Chhotala continued to send more money to four bank accounts as per Prabhu’s guidance. By June 12, he had transferred a total of Rs56.50 lakh.
The scam escalated when Chhotala continued to send more funds, eventually transferring Rs12.5 lakh by June 20, bringing the total to Rs68.69 lakh. However, Chhotala was only allowed a single small withdrawal of Rs30,891.
When he attempted to withdraw 50,000 USDT on June 20 , Lordpenalty of 50,000 USDT to complete the transaction. Realizing he had been duped, Chhotala contacted the cybercrime helpline (1930) and filed a complaint, leading to the registration of an FIR by the Surat Cybercrime Police.
The investigation into the fraudulent activities is ongoing as authorities work to track down the individuals behind the fake Zaif platform.
