Pune, 5th September 2026: A 25-year-old man allegedly posed as a woman on Snapchat, developed a friendship with a man over seven months and duped him of around ₹1.5 lakh in a cryptocurrency scam.
The accused has been identified as Kunal Jitendra Admane (25), a resident of the Parvati area. According to the cyber police, Admane created a fake Snapchat account in the name of Prinsika Joshi and used it to establish contact with the complainant.
The complainant received a friend request on Snapchat from an account named Prinsika Joshi. After accepting the request, the two began communicating regularly over the phone and on social media.
After gaining the complainant’s trust, the accused allegedly told him that investing in cryptocurrency could provide high financial returns. The complainant subsequently transferred 1,468 USDT, equivalent to around ₹1.5 lakh, to a crypto wallet provided by the accused.
When the complainant later asked about the returns and the withdrawal of his money, the person behind the account allegedly began avoiding him. Soon after, the Snapchat and Instagram accounts using the name Prinsika Joshi were shut down.
The complainant then realised that he had been cheated and approached the Cyber Police Station, following which a case was registered.
During the investigation, the cyber police analysed the Snapchat ID, mobile number and other available technical information. The investigation revealed that the account was operated by Admane, who had allegedly concealed his real identity by posing as a woman.
Police also found that he allegedly spoke to the complainant in a female voice over the phone to strengthen the impression that he was actually Prinsika Joshi. Admane is reportedly highly educated and has studied hotel management.
The accused was arrested by the cyber police on August 31. The investigation is continuing to determine whether he was involved in similar frauds and whether other victims may have been targeted using the same method.
The operation was carried out under the guidance of Economic Offences Wing Deputy Commissioner of Police Vivek Masal by a team led by Cyber Police Station Senior Police Inspector Swapnali Shinde and Police Inspector Sharad Shelke, along with police personnel Krishnakant Desai and Balasaheb Chavan.