B’luru: Student duo dupes people promising high returns on Crypto trading; arrested

Bengaluru: The popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is being used for scamming people of their hard-earned money. Two Belagavi-based students were arrested by the police for scamming several persons by advertising unbelievable profits through crypto investing.

The CEN police said they have arrested Kiran Bharatesh (20) and Ashad Mohideen (21) both from Raibag in Belagavi for conning several persons through fake social media accounts including Instagram.

DCP Dr. Anoop A Shetty said that the accused had opened tens of thousands of fake accounts on Instagram which were used to advertise astronomical profits for crypto investments. They claimed that almost 60 percent of returns could be earned in minutes in Bitcoin trading. If anyone showed interest in it, they would suggest transferring funds, anywhere between Rs 3,000 to Rs 40,000, through online payment apps.

Police also seized Rs 40,000 found in the bank account, 2 mobile phones, and 3 SIM cards from the accused.

Police cautioned the public not to fall for such schemes online and exercise due diligence before investing in any financial products.