Every other day, we read accounts of people being stolen of their hard-earned money in India, where cases of scams and fraudulent activities are increasing at an alarming rate. The easiest approach to prevent falling victim to such scams is to be wary of strangers and do extensive background checks on everyone you communicate with online. And when it comes to investing money, one should exercise utmost caution and avoid doing so merely on the advice of another person.
Financial advice from strangers can frequently have rather disastrous outcomes. A Pune-based software worker who met a woman through a matrimonial website and paid almost Rs 92 lakh on her advice had a similar situation. The techie lost all of his money since the woman turned out to be a con artist.
Many people utilize matrimonial websites to discover their life companions. However, one must also keep in mind that the users they are engaging with on the site are strangers and shouldn't be trusted unless they have met them several times and have undergone a background check.
A Pune-based IT worker who had met a woman online was defrauded of Rs 91.75 lakh. According to a report in The Indian Express, a man who works for an IT company met a woman online in February of this year with the intention of getting married to her. According to the investigation, the woman persuaded the man to make a total investment of Rs 91.75 lakh.
According to police officials, the woman made a marriage commitment to the man when they first spoke on the phone after meeting on a matrimonial website. After proposing marriage, the woman persuaded the man to invest in "blescoin" trading for "a bright future." The victim took out loans from various banks and a loan app because she believed the woman. For the investment, he took out a total loan of Rs. 71 lakhs.
The man has been following the woman's directions since February and has made a total of 86 lakhs rupees (including the money withdrawn from the loan and his own savings) to various bank accounts.
He believed that the funds were being used to fund a 'blescoin' trading enterprise. The woman advised the man to make an additional investment of Rs. 10 lahks when he received no return. In order to receive a return on his investment, the report states that he deposited approximately Rs 3.95 lakh, followed by Rs 1.8 lakh. However, when this didn't materialize, he concluded that he had been duped.
The man, who resides in Adarsh Nagar on Dehu Road, reported the incident to the police, who have since arrested the unnamed woman and her accomplices.
