Two suspects have been arrested in India on suspicion of being involved in a cryptocurrency scam targeting victims all across the country.
In addition to sitting on the fence when it comes to industry regulations and finding resolutions to controversial bans, India has also seen its fair share of crypto crimes. One of the most well-known frauds is the alleged Ponzi scheme known as GainBitcoin.
Another Crypto Scam in India
EB3coins is another one and is run by Vikas Uppal and Gazal Ghosh. The Mumbai Mirror reports that the pair allegedly scammed victims out of their hard-earned money by promising that they would be part of a lucrative investment opportunity that would pay out high returns. The scheme was reportedly being operated by Chennai-based payment portal Vpaybits.
Authorities started to become suspicious after hearing the experience of one of the platform’s alleged victims, A Raghav. The story began when Raghav attended a seminar held by Uppal and Ghosh in May of last year. After the meeting, Raghav was contacted directly by the two. He explained:
I transferred Rs 3.5 lakh to the firm via netbanking following which Uppal instructed me to sign up on their website. I was asked to wait for a while for the coins to get deposited in my account and soon see the money growing. However, it never happened despite me waiting for close to a year. When the website went down in March this year, I tried contacting Uppal but in vain.
Suspects Arrested
On Friday, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Navi Mumbai police arrested both Uppal and Ghosh. They are accused of scamming thousands of victims all over India out of hundreds of thousands of rupees. In addition to Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Thane, the scam is also reported to have targeted victims in Delhi.
The cryptocurrency community in India definitely seem to be having a hard time. Unclear regulations, the ban and an overall air of hostility have resulted in successful platforms like Zebpay leaving the country to look for greener pastures. In addition, the recent arrests of Unocoin’s co-founders have made others in the community concerned at being next in the firing line.
Have you been a victim of a crypto scam? Have you heard of EB3coins? Let us know in the comments below!
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