Cyberabad police’s cybercrime unit returned nearly ₹2.7 lakh after successfully tracing and reimbursing a victim of a cryptocurrency fraud, marking a significant development in cybercrime investigations. Through international cooperation, they recovered a substantial amount of lost funds following noted scams involving unsolicited investment opportunities.
In a significant move, the Cyberabad police’s cybercrime unit has successfully facilitated the refund of nearly ₹2.7 lakh to a victim of a cryptocurrency investment scam. This case stands out as it’s the first instance where crypto assets lost in a cyber fraud were traced and returned, thanks to both legal efforts and international collaboration.
The situation unfolded after the victim filed a complaint on February 2, 2024, revealing that he had invested 24,275.8 USDT—about ₹20.39 lakh—into multiple private cryptocurrency wallets. He was drawn into this scam under the pretense of entering lucrative trading contracts that promised high returns but ended up losing everything.
Police investigators managed to trace the digital footprints of the transactions. They discovered that a considerable portion of the funds had landed in a wallet linked to an international cryptocurrency exchange based in Seychelles, Africa. Following standard procedure, the police issued a formal request to the exchange for Know Your Customer (KYC) information related to the suspect and the wallet in question.
To their credit, the exchange complied and shared the wallet holder’s identity along with a verification of the balance, which stood at 0.03979 BTC—roughly $3,746.58 or ₹3.22 lakh at the time. Subsequently, the police obtained a court order to freeze the account associated with this wallet, which was crucial to retrieving the funds for the victim.
The court, after assessing the provided documentation and the transaction details, directed the exchange to proceed with refunding the frozen assets back to the victim’s crypto wallet. Following these legal proceedings, a total of 3,125.42 USDT, worth approximately ₹2.68 lakh, was successfully refunded.
In light of this case, the cybercrime police have taken steps to alert the public, issuing a cautionary advisory about the dangers of online investment schemes. They advised citizens to remain vigilant and avoid engaging with unsolicited messages on platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram, especially those that promise quick profits or encourage the installation of unknown applications. The police continue to stress the importance of being careful in the digital financial landscape.
