In Brief:
- IPS officer, Shikha Goel cautioned against transferring cryptocurrencies to unauthorised private wallets.
- She said that overall sixteen such cases have been registered involving cryptocurrencies.
- She asked crypto investors “to go only to the reputed and long-established players in this field.”
in order to bring attention to the rising crypto crimes and frauds, a Hyderabad IPS (Indian Police Service) officer, Shikha Goel cautioned against falling prey to fraudsters and not transferring cryptocurrencies to unauthorized private wallets.
Speaking at an event that discussed the ‘rise in cybercrimes’, S Goel said that all sixteen such cases have been registered involving cryptocurrencies. Out of these, 14 were related to investment and trading. She further explained, “People have been cheated of ₹3.45 crore in their greed for higher returns against investment in cryptocurrency.”
Warning users against unauthorized private crypto wallets, the commissioner said, “If you are going to be using or investing in cryptocurrency, please go only to the reputed and long-established players in this field.”
She further explained that fraudsters often make use of WhatsApp calls or messages to pursue people to invest in cryptocurrency and get huge returns. After people fall into their trap and make a purchase, the fraudsters ask them to transfer it into their private wallets for much higher returns.
When the cryptocurrency is transferred to their wallets, the fraudsters convert it into cash by other exchanges and sell them off. And as many of the websites or mobile apps operate from either China or Nigeria, it’s difficult to nab them. Many times, getting tricksters’ IP logs becomes difficult too.
The growing attention to cryptos have become both a reason for people’s excitement as well their rising misgivings regarding them. As a result, it has become an agency for rising frauds too. For instance, recently, the Indian PM’s Twitter account was hacked to attempt a Bitcoin giveaway scam.
