An Indian auto parts dealer became the victim of a US$267,000 cryptocurrency scam after local police closed the case on what was determined to be a hoax call on Friday, local media reported.
Fast facts
- 29-year-old victim Vinay Jain told police on Saturday that he had been robbed by the accused who had promised him returns on crypto investment.
- Jain prepared 2 crore rupees, or over US$267,000, from his family savings, which was handed to the perpetrators to be credited to his crypto account.
- Jain was beaten then robbed, leading to local police receiving a call of an armed robbery, but a victim was not found on the day of the call.
- Cryptocurrency scams are on the rise throughout India — Indians visited crypto scam websites 17.8 million times in 2020 and 9.6 million times in 2021, according to Chainalysis data sourced by Livemint.
- Police have filed armed robbery charges against at least eight people involved in the case.