Indian police arrests a Kolkata native for $180k crypto scam

Indian police have arrested a Kolkata native for scamming innocent traders of Rs. 1.5 crore (approximately $180,000). According to the Bidhannagar police, the 26-year-old man from Ahmedabad was arrested for his role in the crypto investment fraud which took place in 2023.

The defendant, Harshik Mukeshbhai Patel, was arrested at Chandkheda in Gandhinagar district in Gujarat. According to reports, on the order of the court, he has been transported to Kolkata, where he will be remanded. The arrest was made in connection with a case that was registered on September 15, 2023, at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station based on a complaint filed by 34-year-old Aurobinda Maji, a resident of Kolkata.

Indian police docks suspect for role in crypto investment scam

According to the complaint filed by Maji, he was duped by the fake cryptocurrency investment platform that promised massive gains. The platform provided its users with a wallet where they could deposit funds and watch their investments grow rapidly. This is typical with most scammers, where they promise unsuspecting users high returns as a means to sway them into making investments on their fake platform.

The Indian police mentioned that the scam, which was carried out under the pretense of crypto trading, saw the criminals use multiple bank accounts to steal funds off the platform. The fraudsters were said to be operating a well-designed, professional-looking online platform that looked just like the interface of most legitimate crypto wallets and trading websites.

Traders were advised to invest in various digital assets, a typical move by criminals to make them spread out their funds. This way, once they lose money from trading an asset, they can still be tied to the criminal group through other investments in other digital assets. According to reports, the scammers even offered them guaranteed profits on their investments, with these profits ranging from 10% to 25% within days.

Investigators with the Indian police said that they tracked a portion of the amount the criminal stole from their victims, which was about Rs. 2 lakh (approximately $2,400), to an IDFC First Bank account held by Patel. The money was sent to the account through the Layer 2 stage and was withdrawn through an ATM shortly after the deposit was made, the Indian police said.

During the arrest, the Indian police seized undisclosed articles that they believed were linked to the financial transactions. “We believe Patel may be part of a broader network engaged in similar digital investment scams and we are continuing the probe to track additional beneficiaries and accomplices,” a senior officer of Bidhannagar Commissionerate said.

The rate of crimes connected to digital assets in India has ticked up in the last few days. A recent scam saw a man lose about Rs. 1.67 crore (approximately $200,000) through WhatsApp. The victim connected to the scammer who posed as a potential bride on a matrimonial website. The scammer started talking to the victim on April 11, claiming that she worked in a crypto trading firm based in Singapore.

The victim was said to have initially sent about $583 to invest in the platform, making a profit of $100 from that single trade. The trade was enough to convince the victim to transfer heavy amounts to the scammer in the hopes of making more profits. “After the first transfer, the app showed an instant profit of Rs 8,300. Lured by the returns, I continued to ‘invest’ more money into the platform through multiple bank transfers and UPI payments,” the victim said.

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