Pune: With cybercrimes involving online investment scams on the rise, a new scheme targeting Bitcoin traders has come to light. In Pune, a female doctor was scammed out of ₹15 lakh under the guise of Bitcoin trading.

A 34-year-old female doctor filed a complaint at Hadapsar Police Station. According to the police, the doctor, who practices privately, was lured into the scam by a Telegram user who sent her a link to a website for registering a Bitcoin trading account. The user promised direct profits from trading as per their instructions.

Following the instructions, the doctor transferred a total of 1,076,400 rupees over several transactions. The Telegram user then added her to a group named Amazon Mall Task, explaining that she would receive commissions for completing virtual grocery purchase tasks.

After completing the first task, she saw 6,650 rupees credited to her account, which built her trust. She then transferred smaller amounts, receiving commissions, and subsequently transferred larger sums.

In total, she transferred 436,672 rupees. The profit shown on her account was 113,778 rupees. However, when she requested to withdraw the money, she received a notification that her account was frozen.

Upon inquiring with the Telegram user, she was told that she needed to complete the remaining tasks and deposit an additional 90,000 rupees. It was then that she realized she had been scammed. Hadapsar Police are currently investigating the case.