Mumbai: Ponzi crypto app collects crores and vanishes overnight

A crypto trading app Ece Limited where thousands of people invested crores of rupees has not only disappeared from app stores but also stopped functioning since September 26 This came to light after some of the victims approached MIDC police station on Wednesday seeking help after losing their investments Reena Tiwari one of the victims said she and her family members had invested more than Rs 16 lakh since July But now when they log in on the app it shows their account balance as zeroAccount details of an investor on Ece Limited before the app stopped service left The account now shows all amounts as zeroECE Limited which claimed to be an USAbased firm had opened two Telegram groupsmdashECE Indian Community which had more than 19000 members and Ece Officialmdashwhere they spread their investor base said victims As per estimates the company has decamped with hundreds of crores of rupees Many of the victims said they had used their lifersquos savings some even took loans as the app promised high returnsAs the app stopped functioning on September 26 a number of victims including Tiwari and her fivesix family members approached the MIDC police station on Wednesday Tiwari added that investors from different states such as Gujarat Madhya Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Odisha etc have also approached their local police stations regarding the matter MIDC cops recorded the statements of the victims on ThursdayAlso Read Mumbai 72yearold booked for shooting woman with airgunPyramid schemeTiwarirsquos sister Ruchi Pandey who had also invested money said ldquoThousands of people have been duped by this company The company apart from the Telegram groups has also shared WhatsApp numbers of their customer care staff Earlier we could withdraw the profits on our investments But later they started deducting 5 per cent of the withdrawal amount They also said that if we manage to get five people to invest in the app they will not deduct the moneyrdquoReena Tiwari with a family member at the MIDC police station on Thursday PicAnurag AhireCops said that the firm offered high returns and benefits to lure investors Earlier they also let them withdraw profits But as it had high returns more and more people started investing the profit too The firm also gave a 200US dollar bonus to those who got more people to invest in the appldquoWhen we tried to withdraw some of the money in September we saw that the withdrawal option was not there When we checked with customer care staff they said there was some problem from the RBI side and assured us that it would be solved in a week But later they said if we wanted to withdraw money 5 per cent of the principal amount would be reduced We felt something was fishy so did not withdraw money Later we learnt that even those who agreed to the deduction could not withdraw moneyrdquo said TiwariA Telegram group created by Ece Limited officials with more than 19000 members right account details of a victimHigh profitAnother victim Harilal Patel an Andheri resident said ldquoIn July this year I got a message on WhatsApp from one woman who introduced herself as Diana She told me about Ece Limited After she convinced me with the promise of high returns I initially invested Rs 4000 Once I started getting profits I started increasing investment I have invested more than Rs 6 lakh since then and even withdrew Rs 40000 of the profit Before the app stopped functioning my account balance was Rs 8 lakh including the principal amount and profitrdquoCertificates that Ece Limited shared with the investorsPatel added Diana had allegedly told him that the USAbased company was planning to start offices in India too A 42yearold engineer from Sakinaka told midday he and his family members invested around Rs 28 lakh ldquoI was told that the firm was a USbased trading platform dealing with UPI and crypto trading I had invested in bothrdquoExpert warnsPinakin Dave country manager India and SAARC region at OneSpanmdasha cyber security company told midday ldquoIf anyone wants to invest through an app they should first check who owns the app These details can be found on Play Store or App Store as they require details about the company and owner before making the app available on their platform One can also find developer information from the app details which can be used to trace them This can be helpful from an investigative point of viewrdquo ldquoAnother thing that people need to check is how long the app has been in use If itrsquos a very new app then they should not consider investing in it as it is a clear red flagrdquo he added26Day in September when the app stopped working