News
This is how my friend lost Rs 12 lakh in a crypto scam! You could be next
Can a simple online hotel review system cost a person half their life savings? Here’s the story of how some scammers posed as investment professionals and duped a woman of Rs 12 lakh, and it all started with a text message.
This article describes the dangers of falling for crypto scams. For the sake of anonymity, we’ll call the victim Tripti, who falls prey to a devious online scam involving fake cryptocurrency exchange websites and scammers posing as genuine participants.
to know more
For all its innovative power, cryptocurrencies have earned a very bad reputation in India. The digital form of the currency saw its darkest days in 2021, when it hit lows, but the sudden recovery in its prices has fueled the number of frauds active in the cryptocurrency sector in recent days. This scam involves the use of WhatsApp, Telegram, fake cryptocurrency exchange websites, and a host of bad actors playing confidants tricking the victim out of their hard-earned money.
The bait
Start with an innocuous WhatsApp message or group invitation promising quick rewards for reviewing websites. These scammers try to prove that the whole process is legitimate by sharing screenshots of small amounts of money credited to a bank account on WhatsApp. They even send you fake certificates with a “Ripple” crypto seal to make you believe that everything is legitimate and backed by the Indian government.
Fake crypto investment certificate issued to Tripti
The real trap lies in a series of tasks and switching to Telegram in exchange for greater rewards. Telegram’s anonymity features make it a haven for scammers. Below is an example of what a WhatsApp message sent by scammers would look like.
Example of WhatsApp group invitations from scammers
What is convincing about this reward system is the presence of other people in the group (scammers masquerading as real investors) who constantly bombard the WhatsApp group with “positive” messages of money transfers and how the reward system is authentic.
Tripti signed up for the review program. The authenticity of the platform seemed confirmed when he started receiving money into his bank account. The reward for a review ranged between Rs 100-500.
To be a part of this “review for reward” system, provide your bank details or UPI ID to a dedicated finance person on that WhatsApp group. Only through them could Tripti initiate fund transfers.
After Tripti completed a series of reviews shared with her on WhatsApp, a more lucrative proposition was suggested to her where she could earn more for reviews and other online activities. For this reason you were asked to download and install Telegram. Now, compared to WhatsApp, Telegram is a more popular platform for pest scammers as you don’t need a phone number to use the platform.
You can also log in using temporary mobile numbers available through third-party online platforms. According to Telegram, with the latest update, users can now register for their account using anonymous blockchain-based numbers available on the Fragment platform. Previously, the app allowed users to manage who could see their number and who could find them via their phone number, but the process still required a SIM card. Nowadays we all know how easy it is to create a fake ID on social media.
A “game” in which you always lose
The second phase is to accustom the target to a gamified version of the rewards earned. This program is what scammers call “Merchant Exchange”.
“I was asked to write 3 reviews and the fourth would be the ‘trader task’. This trader task was more challenging, which could be a review for a more luxurious place or a simple game. I had to go through these stages to win money. – Tripti
After completing the task, Tripti received a code to share with the merchant. For authentication, Tripti had to send money to the merchant. Subsequently, she was asked to share the screenshot of the transfer with her supervisor on Telegram. A few minutes later, she Tripti received more money than she had invested.
He increased the number of review submissions and invested larger sums in hopes of higher returns. After several rounds, Tripti earned Rs 6050 from an initial investment of Rs 4600. After a few rounds, she was convinced by other members of her group (also scammers) to move to a bigger league for higher returns. The platform was called “VIP Advanced Task” where more money was invested. The investment required to pursue this task was Rs 14,600. Tripti transferred money to join this game that three other members were also playing.
“There was another person (another scammer) in the group who guided all the members on how to perform the task successfully. The person was called ‘Teacher’.” – Tripti
Other members were constantly sending screenshots of successful transfers and bigger profits to convince Tripti to invest more money.
Now, these other people seem like normal corporate employees hanging out at the office. However, when I performed a Google reverse image search of these people, their true identities were revealed via their LinkedIn pages.
Scammers using fake pictures and names on Telegram Scammers using LinkedIn profile pictures on Telegram
All financial exchanges took place via a fake crypto platform called “cryptoglobe”, created by scammers. We checked the URL a few days ago and it was not active.
The transactions were carried out using fake cryptographic tokens. The platform was a diversion to show inflated prices of the token’s value. The idea was to convince Tripti to add more money to buy these fake tokens.
The bait worked. Tripti added more money to the platform. Later, when Tripti tried to withdraw the Rs 48,000 she had invested, she was asked to add another Rs 1.6 lakh to withdraw the amount. Irrevocably, these scammers had trapped Tripti in their vicious cycle where she would never be able to get her money back unless she gave them more.
Provocation tactics
The other members of the group would push Tripti to continue investing and not abandon the deposit. At times, these comments might be discouraging, to the point of labeling Tripti as not “brave enough” to try to win the biggest prize.
“They seemed genuine, I couldn’t tell they were fake people because their SMS responses didn’t look like spam or bots. These were real people scamming me” – Tripti.
After succumbing to the pressure, Tripti decided to go for the big prize and invested Rs 3,80,000 for the VIP Advanced Task. She was then asked to exchange the same amount for tokens from the platform. After taking the screenshot of the transfer and sharing it again, he received a notification on his Cryptoglobe account regarding its return.
To her surprise, to withdraw Rs 3,80,000, she was asked to deposit another Rs 6,50,000 to become a VIP member. The notification said that she could only withdraw the money later. Tripti went ahead and deposited Rs 6,50,000 and took the screenshot to share it with the finance department on Telegram.
Bank statements of the money Tripti transferred to the scammers
She was again asked for her IFSC code to initiate the transfer. Fifteen minutes after sharing the details, Tripti was informed that the transaction had failed, that banking hours had passed and that she would have to withdraw the money the next day.
Cryptoglobe online user interface
With no response, the next day, she panicked and started messaging other people in the Telegram group, asking if they were facing similar problems. The others asked her to calm down and told her there was nothing to worry about. Unfortunately for her, it was too late.
The final blow
Tripti sent a message to the Telegram group with his code to withdraw the balance of Rs 19,50,870 from his Cryptoglobe account. This was the alleged reward for the Rs 10,44,600 he had invested. As time passed, the “Review Pending” notification remained for over 20 minutes. This was the first time the move took this long. Tripti wrote to the finance company that the transfer had not been completed and was still pending. What the person said next shocked Tripti. They informed her that he could not withdraw such a large amount as only VIP 2 members could withdraw more than Rs 15 lakh. For Tripti to withdraw Rs 19,00,000, he would have to invest Rs 14 lakh more to make the limit reach Rs 35 lakh. The financial company stated that only by becoming a VIP 2 member will he be able to withdraw the entire amount and not before.
“I sent them a message on Telegram and asked for my money. I told them I couldn’t invest anymore because I had no money. I constantly messaged them to provide me with a solution, but all they kept telling me was that I should invest more to get all my money” – Tripti
Tripti’s chat with scammers on Telegram
This was it. Tripti gave up realizing that she was trapped in this vicious cycle of fraud and had no way out. Subsequently, Tripti reported the matter to the authorities, who even confirmed that it was a scam. Police told Tripti that this type of fraud was nothing new and that they had received complaints about it.
Tripti informed India Today that scammers from Telegram group are still messaging her to transfer extra Rs 14 lakh to unlock her VIP 2 account and withdraw her money. We don’t know how many other people have been scammed using this platform.
Many people are targeted by scammers on a daily basis, and some fall prey to their tactics. The only way to be safe in this scenario is to authenticate every detail on the investment platform you are investing in.
Speak to an expert to confirm its validity. Do a reverse search on Google Images of the people you see in these groups. Finally, don’t accept reward programs, job offers, or any investment opportunities from strangers calling you, especially those from social media apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. 99.9% of the time they are scammers. Stay safe and protect your investments from online vultures like these.
Published on:
June 2, 2024