In March, the Supreme Court (SC) in India revoked the central bank’s blanket ban on cryptocurrency, which spurred high trading volume in the country. However, the increase in digital currency trading in the country also attracted bad actors. Scammers are increasingly targeting wealthy investors with Bitcoin wallet scams.
Bitcoin wallet scams increase in India
A recent report today claims that wealthy investors in India have been the major target of recent cryptocurrency scam involving fake wallets. An Indian investor lost a whopping amount of $3.7 million (Rs. 28 crores) in the Bitcoin wallet scam, as IBTimes reported, citing a local news outlet called India TV New. Many other investors fell prey to these scams.
Commenting on this, the Founder of Avalance Global Solutions, Manan Shah, added:
I have seen so many wealthy Indians falling into the trap of such fake cryptocurrency wallets in the recent past. One gentleman just came to me who lost $50,000 (over Rs 37 lakh) while dealing with one such fake platform.
Digital currency scams in India
Similar to other cryptocurrency scams, the scammers got in contact with the supposed victims through different social media platforms. The investors will be convinced to trade digital currencies, particularly Bitcoin, with their application, on promises of low rate. Unknown to the investors, these are common catchwords used by scammers to attract prey.
After investing in the fake Bitcoin wallet scam, the operators will seize every communication with the investors, and head away with their investments. The transactions mostly happen via Insta Global Pay (IGP), Swift Global Pay (SGP), etc.
Meanwhile, the founder of CoinDCX, Sumit Gupta, believes that cryptocurrency and Bitcoin wallet scams are likely to increase continually, as the market continues to mature and gain mainstream adoption. More like a caution, Gupta admitted that scammers are now deploying more advanced tactics to defraud people. Hence, investors should be careful, especially when it involves crypto.
