Crypto scammers are using a wide range of techniques, including identity scams and phishing, to lure users into investing through fake crypto exchanges. Investors in India have lost as much as ₹1,000 crore in such scams that have spread through social media portals, according to a report by Indian cyber security firm, CloudSEK.
According to the report, the scam involves creation of fake crypto exchanges that resemble legitimate trading platforms. The scammers subsequently reach out to users, and offer a $100 credit note as a welcome offer on the platform. Such offers are even credited to users to gain trust, who subsequently add funds to the platform after making profits.
According to Rahul Sasi, chief executive of CloudSEK, all trading and withdrawal facilities of the fraud platform were subsequently disabled, after users added their own funds.
To be sure, such crypto scams are not novel. On May 27, Mumbai Police authorities in the Kandivali West area of the city arrested undergraduate student, Jagdish Ladi, for cumulative crypto scams amounting to over ₹1.5 crore. The latter, according to a report by The Indian Express, promised a number of users returns to the scale of 25% – but failed to deliver.
Shortly thereafter, on May 29, a Hindustan Times report said that a fraud crypto exchange, which too was impersonating a legitimate site, stole ₹1.57 crore from…
