New Delhi: Every day, we read about people being robbed of their hard-earned money in India, where cases of scams and frauds are increasing at an alarming rate. The easiest way to prevent falling victim to this type of scam is to be wary of strangers and conduct extensive background checks on everyone you interact with online.
And when it comes to investing money, one should be very careful and avoid doing so only on the advice of another person. (Also Read: From being born in a refugee camp to building a billion-dollar empire: Meet the man whose first job was a salesman, now worth Rs 8,509 crore)
Financial advice from strangers can often have rather disastrous results. A Pune-based software worker who met a woman through a matrimonial website and paid around Rs 92 lakh for her advice had a similar situation. Techie loses all his money as the woman turns out to be a con artist. (Also Read: Once struggling to survive, website shut down in 2015, its app-only model failed but now a Rs 3501-crore-plus company)
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Many people use matrimonial websites to find their life partner. However, one also needs to remember that the users they engage with on the site are strangers and should not be trusted unless they have met them multiple times and done a background check.
A Pune-based IT worker who met a woman online was duped of Rs 91.75 lakh. According to a report in The Indian Express, a man working in an IT company met a woman online in February this year with the intention of marrying her. According to the investigation, the woman convinced the man to invest a total of Rs 91.75 lakh.
According to police officials, the woman promised marriage to the man when they first spoke on the phone after meeting on a matrimonial website. After proposing marriage, the woman convinces the man to invest in the “BlessCoin” business for a “bright future”.
The victim trusted the woman and took loans from various banks and a loan app. For the investment, he took a total loan of Rs 71 lakh.
The man has been following the woman’s instructions since February and deposited a total of Rs 86 lakh (including loan withdrawals and his own savings) in various bank accounts.
He believed the funds were being used to finance a ‘blesscoin’ trading enterprise. The woman advises the man to invest an additional Rs. 10 lakhs even if not returned.
To get a return on his investment, reports say he deposited around Rs 3.95 lakh, followed by Rs 1.8 lakh. However, when this did not materialize, he concluded that he had been deceived.
The man, who lives in Adarsh Nagar on Dehu Road, reported the incident to the police, who have since arrested the unidentified woman and her accomplices.
