Trader loses ₹5L to cryptocurrency fraud

A 55-year-old trader from Vile Parle lost ?5 lakh to a cryptocurrency fraud promising high returns by converting his investment into USDT. He registered a case with the police.

MUMBAI: A 55-year-old trader from Vile Parle lost ₹5 lakh to a cryptocurrency fraud who promised high returns by converting his investment into USDT or tether of equivalent value. Tether (USDT) is known as a “stablecoin” – a cryptocurrency designed to provide a stable price point at all times, usually in US dollars.

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The Vile Parle police have registered a case against an unidentified fraud in cheating case after the complainant Dattatray Samant told the police that he had downloaded an app called Onramp Money on July 11 to trade in cryptocurrency. He said he first tested the app out by making an investment worth ₹100 on one tether.

“After I was assured of everything going smoothly with the smaller investment, I decided to make a bigger investment through the app. On July 16, I invested ₹1 lakh in the currency which also went through without a hitch. The same day, I made another investment of ₹5 lakh through the same app,” Samant told the police.

After this last transaction was made, there was no communication about a successful trade from the app like the earlier two investments, said an officer from Vile Parle police. “When he tried to get in touch with the customer care of the app through an email, he received an automated reply and a token number of the complaint raised. However, no further action was taken as regards the money he lost or any assurance of it being returned,” said the officer.

Samant then approached the police who registered a cheating case against an unknown accused under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 419 (cheating by impersonation) and 420 (fraud) of the Indian Penal Code as well as the relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000.