Indian investors may have lost $128 million (INR 1,000 crore) to fake crypto exchanges. Most of them were cheated due to a lack of knowledge about safe investments in digital assets. As investors increasingly shift their attention to crypto, scammers are also focusing on this new asset class to find their preys, said a news report on Tuesday.
$128 Million Crypto Fraud
The revelation was made in a media report based on information provided by cyber security company CloudSEK. The firm stumbled upon the fraud when an investor who had lost $64,000 (INR 50 lakh) to cryptocurrency scams sought its help.
During the investigation, CloudSEK said it hit upon an ongoing operation where phishing domains and fake crypto apps are being used to scam unsuspecting investors.
“We estimate that threat actors have defrauded victims of up to $128 million (about Rs 1,000 crore) via such crypto scams,” said Rahul Sasi, Founder and CEO of CloudSEK.
Modus Operandi
Describing the modus operandi of the fraud, CloudSEK said the entire operation begins with the setting up of fake crypto trading platforms that impersonate legitimate ones. They replicate the website dashboard and user experience of the official website.
“This large-scale campaign entices unwary individuals into a huge gambling scam. Many of these bogus websites impersonate “CoinEgg”, a legitimate UK-based cryptocurrency trading platform,” the report said.
Unsuspecting investors are approached and…
