Crypto scams will keep happening in India until investors are educated about both the pitfalls and benefits of crypto.
Crypto has a reputation for providing skyrocketing returns. Many people are charmed by these returns and in the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) invest in risky schemes without doing the proper due diligence.
Recently, a couple of crypto scams were uncovered in India wherein investors were promised too good to be true returns.
₹40 Crore Scam in Nagpur
On Saturday, 4 people were arrested for allegedly defrauding 2000 people of ₹40 crores in a cryptocurrency scam, according to an NDTV report which sourced the news from PTI (Press Trust of India).
Nishid Wasnik, his wife Pragati, Gajanan Mungune and Sandesh Lanjewar were arrested for absconding for over a year, an official revealed.
“We have seized a pistol, seven live cartridges, four luxury cars worth ₹ one crore, ₹ 18,91,210 cash, eight cellphones and a laptop. They were held from Pangoli near Lonavala in Pune. Nishid, Sandesh and Gajanan are also accused of gunning down a person in Washim after abducting him from Nagpur last year,” he said.
The following day, 7 more were arrested from Lonavala in Pune.
The main accused Nishid Wasnik resorted to an ostentatious lifestyle which he advertised in order to lure innocent investors in his investment firm that he claimed was dealing in ‘ether’ cryptocurrency.
“He manipulated the website of the firm to show a steady rise in the value of investments, while transferring money into his accounts fraudulently between 2017 and 2021. He had even organised a seminar on cryptocurrency investment in Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh,” the police said.
All 11, were charged under IPC, Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act and Information Technology Act provisions by Yashodhara Nagar police.
Man Held for Duping Teacher
On Monday, Matunga police have arrested a 31-year-old man from Bengaluru Bengaluru who would allegedly dupe investors by offering high returns for investing in a crypto mining scheme, reported The Indian Express.
The accused has been identified as Mohammad Jabir, who created a mobile app called Arohash for the alleged crypto mining scheme.
According to the police, recently a teacher at a Matunga-based school had lodged a complaint that he had been duped of ₹2.47 lakh. The teacher initially received a text message on his mobile phone which promised investors of returns of ₹2,000 per day.
The complainant opened a link in the message and downloaded the application from Google Play Store. Later he received a call from a person named Arav Khurana who introduced him to a Bitcoin mining scheme.
He initially invested a sum of INR 2000 and received the promised return. That’s how the accused gained his trust. The complainant then increased his risk exposure by investing INR 2.47 lakh for higher returns.
However, after a few days, the accused removed their applications from Play Store, citing technical reasons and deleted a WhatsApp group.
This prompted the complainant to approach the police.
Financial scams occur in every market. Since crypto market is new, users are unaware of its pros and cons. That’s why they fall victim to crypto scams. Investor education should be the prime focus of crypto entrepreneurs and stalwarts for the long-term prosperity of the industry. Government has been running numerous schemes and campaigns to educate people about scams. The same schemes should integrate crypto as well, now that the Government has at least recognized crypto earning through its new tax regime.
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