Crypto Fraudsters Targeted Vizagites, Duped them of ₹35 lakhs

• Crypto fraudsters duped Vizagites of more than ₹35 lakh.
• Many users from the city lost ₹20 lakh.
• ED earlier probed crypto fraud across Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

A group of Vizagites, people hailing from the Indian city Visakhapatnam, has been duped by crypto fraudsters. They were contacted by criminals through social media, promising high returns – only to leave victims stranded later. Probe agency ED earlier busted a crypto scam worth ₹2,300 crore across Himachal and Punjab.

Vizagites Targeted by Crypto Fraudsters

Crypto fraudsters, who introduced themselves to victims as Sam, Kareena, & other names, have duped a group of Vizagites of more than ₹35 lakh. Victims were reportedly approached by crypto fraudsters through Telegram. They were promised hefty returns and convinced to invest through an online portal.

Claiming to be from The Nine Hertz Group240, fraudsters persuaded victims who they could convince in the first attempt. Users did see high returns on their initial small deposits. But, it became an issue when their withdrawal requests met with a demand to collect “tax and charges.”

Users argued and refused to pay, following which their account access was blocked, and the fraudsters became unavailable. Notably, some Vizagites had transferred funds worth almost ₹5 lakh or ₹16 lakh in a single payment through UPI and bank accounts.

Authorities have registered a case under the IT Act & the Bharat Nyay Sanhita, and the case is being investigated at the moment.

Crypto Frauds on Vizagites

This is not the first time that Vizagites have been targeted by crypto fraudsters. Criminals have previously also fed on people who are greedy and desire to make some quick money. A few victims from the Indian city have even lost ₹20 lakh by investing in a crypto trading platform.

Authorities have noted that investment scams made up approximately 40% of the money that citizens lost to cybercrime each month.

Financial crypto frauds usually involve a pattern of promising high returns, convincing users to invest, and then eventually disappearing or disconnecting from the network. It is highly recommended to do thorough research and risk assessment before crypto or any other type of investment.

ED Probe Earlier

A probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last year unearthed scams worth ₹2,300 crore across Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, both Indian states. It was observed that victims were being lured into a fake cryptocurrency-based MLM scheme, or a multi-level marketing scheme.

The agency acted upon multiple FIRs filed by victims and carried out coordinated search operations at eight different locations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The investigation found that fraudsters were carrying out schemes under unregulated and self-created platforms.

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