Facebook Friend Request Turns into Trading Trap, Youth Duped of Lakhs

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Young Individual Loses ₹18 Lakh in Cyber Scam

A young individual from the Campierganj area recently fell victim to a cyber scam, losing ₹18 lakh after accepting a friend request on social media and being lured into a fake online trading scheme that promised unusually high returns.

The Scam

The victim, Anand Prakash Yadav, reported that he received a friend request from a profile named “Nidhi Mishra.” Initially, the two engaged in casual conversation, but the topic soon shifted to online trading, with the woman offering to help him generate substantial profits. Yadav was then sent a link to a platform called “Hizcoin Shop,” where he was instructed to create a trading ID.

To establish credibility, the scammer claimed to be associated with a purported expert trader named “Harsh Goenka,” who would allegedly generate high returns.

Yadav was initially persuaded to invest ₹50,000, and soon after, he was shown a notional profit of ₹57 lakh on the platform. However, he was told that the amount could only be transferred to his bank account after paying a “commission” of ₹18 lakh.

The Consequences

Lured by the promise of large gains, Yadav transferred ₹18 lakh in instalments to various bank accounts, including those held at Bank of Baroda, UCO Bank, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank, and State Bank of India. The transactions were made via RTGS, UPI, and other modes. However, after the payments were made, the scammer became unreachable, and no profit was credited to Yadav’s account. It was then that he realized he had been defrauded.

Investigation and Warning

According to police, the scammers employed a fake social media profile, phone calls, and a bogus trading platform to gain the victim’s trust. The initial small investment was used to create confidence, followed by fabricated profit figures to extract a larger amount.

A complaint has been filed at the cyber police station, and technical analysis of the trading link, mobile numbers, and transaction trail is ongoing. Efforts are being made to freeze the beneficiary accounts and recover the stolen funds.

Cyber experts have warned users to be cautious of unsolicited investment offers received through social media and to verify the authenticity of trading platforms before transferring funds.

Police have advised the public not to pay any commission or processing fee for withdrawing profits from online trading platforms and to avoid clicking on suspicious links. They also urged immediate reporting of such incidents to the cyber helpline 1930 to improve the chances of fund recovery.

The investigation is ongoing to determine whether the fraud network is operating from within the country or from abroad.