Start-up dream leads to cyber trap in Bengaluru,  21-year-old techie cheated of ₹1.7 lakh and Bitcoin

Bengaluru

A 21-year-old software engineer from Bengaluru, who was aspiring to launch his own start-up, has fallen victim to a sophisticated cyber fraud after being lured with the promise of a large loan through LinkedIn. The victim has been identified as Rohan Kumar Bhoi, who approached the police after realising that he had been systematically cheated by an unidentified individual posing as a loan agent.

According to the complaint filed at the police station on January 8, 2025, the incident dates back to August 2024, when Rohan was contacted by an unknown person through the professional networking platform LinkedIn. The accused introduced himself as a loan agent and claimed he could arrange a loan of 60,000 USDT to help Rohan start his business venture.

Trusting the offer, the victim entered into further communication with the accused, who then demanded money under the pretext of loan processing charges. Acting on this assurance, Rohan transferred 2,000 USDT, amounting to ₹1,70,840, from his HDFC Bank account to a Yes Bank account provided by the accused on October 24, 2024.

The fraud did not stop there. The accused later sought additional payments, prompting the victim to transfer funds through cryptocurrency. Police records state that Rohan transferred 0.10808784 BTC in multiple stages from his crypto wallet to the wallet address shared by the accused.

However, when Rohan began enquiring about the loan disbursal, the accused stopped responding and eventually blocked his contact number. Realising that he had been duped, the victim contacted the cybercrime helpline 1930 and subsequently lodged a formal complaint with the police.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of cybercrime laws, and North East CEN police have launched an investigation to trace the accused, track the financial transactions, and recover the defrauded amount.

Police have once again cautioned start-up aspirants and young professionals to verify loan offers thoroughly and avoid transferring money or cryptocurrency to unknown individuals, especially those contacting them through social media and professional networking platforms.