Machhiwara farmer loses ₹3.72 crore to investment scam

Contacting the victim through Telegram app, the scammers made him believe the scheme by displaying fake profits on their portal

- HT Correspondent [e-mail]

LUDHIANA: Another cyber fraud came to light in Machhiwara when a farmer lost ₹3.72 crore after being lured into a foreign-exchange (Forex) trading scheme on social media.

According to the complainant, the accused had shown 300 percent growth in his account created on a mobile application to win his trust.

According to the police complaint, 57-year-old Sanjeev Pandhi, a resident of Krishnapuri Mohalla of Machhiwara, was contacted by an unknown woman on the Telegram app. She persuaded him to invest in forex trading, promising threefold returns.

Victim made to open a forex trading account Following her instructions, Pandhi opened a trading account with Admiral Markets Global Limited and transactions began through this account.

He stated that between various dates until December 18, 2024, he transferred a total of ₹1.04 crore into the forex trading account. He was shown that he was earning profits and his account was made to reflect a balance of ₹3.66 crore, making him believe that the scheme was indeed legitimate.