Indian Investors Fall Prey to a Cryptocurrency Scam

India had a ban on cryptocurrency in place, but it was lifted sometime last March. After this, the country experienced a massive surge in crypto trading and a subsequent increase in scams. The scams have mainly attacked the moneyed individuals, as some have lost more than USD 50,000 after dealing with suspicious platforms. There are reports of another individual suffering around USD 3.7 million in a scam involving the Bitcoin wallet. The scammers have a unique way of operating. They target people by messaging them on various social media groups and invite them to buy or sell Bitcoin through the apps.

These apps usually offer better trade opportunities or rates, which are generally not found in other apps. However, as soon as the individual would buy Bitcoins on these wallets, the scammer would certainly disappear and stop all kinds of communication with the victims. The transactions usually take place through International Global Pay, Swift Global Pay, or Insta Global Pay.

The founder of CoinCDX, the Indian crypto exchange, has opined that scams would continue to grow at a steady pace in tandem with the growing popularity of the cryptocurrencies. The scammers have resorted to complicated techniques in enticing the investors to part with their coins. So Sumit Gupta, the founder, firmly believes that all investors should have some basic knowledge of the online security principles so that their cryptocurrencies are well taken care of. The investors must be diligent, keep the device updated, and use high-security solutions on their mobile phones.

The price of Bitcoin has appreciated dramatically in the last few months leading to a price surge in the crypto market. It has led to an increase in the number of cryptocurrency scams as the Bitcoin has moved up from the USD 9000 level and presently sustaining near the USD 12000 level. Although coronavirus related crypto scams are almost unheard of, crypto crime in 2020 is the 2nd largest on record. In 2019, crypto scams led to a loss of USD 4.5 billion across the world.