In Pune, more than 200 women have lost a lot of money, around ₹4.2 crore (which is about $508,000), in an investment scam. This scam promised to give 15% profit every month through something called cryptocurrency trading. The fraudsters pretended to be a real financial advisory company and targeted middle-class women aged 35-55, knowing that they mightn't understand investments well.

The police found out that 127 victims were from Hadapsar and 84 from Kondhwa. They were tricked into putting their savings into a mobile app that claimed to help them trade cryptocurrency. The scam started in March 2023, and the fraudsters had an office in Pune's Magarpatta area. They'd 12 people working there who acted like financial advisors.

At first, the victims received the profits they were promised for two months. This made them invest more money and even bring in other people, which is how the scam grew like a pyramid. The police have identified three main suspects: Rajesh Kumar, Priya Sharma, and Mohammad Qureshi. They used fake companies in places like Delaware and the Cayman Islands to carry out their fraud.

The suspects moved about ₹3.1 crore to foreign bank accounts before stopping their operations on September 15, 2023. The Pune Cyber Crime Cell has frozen 17 bank accounts linked to the scam and has recovered ₹37 lakh. They're still looking for the main suspects and have asked Interpol for help.

The local police chief, Amitabh Gupta, said this case shows how clever fraudsters can be, especially when they target people who may not know much about money matters. They've set up a helpline for the victims and are running workshops to teach people about financial safety.

The fraudsters also used social media to find victims, especially women's WhatsApp groups. They created a fake trading platform that showed fake profits and made up stories about transactions. Legal action has started against the suspects, and a special team is working hard to find the stolen money.