The astronomic enhance within the worth of Bitcoin in current instances has introduced cryptocurrencies to the mainstream and lured many into investing important chunks of their hard-earned cash within the digital foreign money, despite repeated warnings from central banks and Wall Avenue veterans. In truth, with Bitcoin already going via the roof, many buyers are in search of extra ‘value-for-money’ alternate options, which is why Ethereum, IOTA, Litecoin and different ‘altcoins’ have additionally seen an exponential rise this 12 months.
Nevertheless, with increasingly individuals attempting to money in on what can solely be described because the Twenty first-century gold rush, con artists are additionally getting in on the act attempting to make a quick buck by duping uninformed buyers.
One such case got here to gentle not too long ago, when Delhi Police’s crime department arrested a 32-year man from Rithala referred to as Narender, for allegedly duping individuals by luring them into investing in a fictional cryptocurrency referred to as ‘Kashhcoin’. In response to the police, Narendar additionally goes by Sonu Dahiya and, is alleged to be a resident of Sonipat, Haryana. Raids have additionally been performed in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and extra arrests are possible within the coming days.
Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, the Joint commissioner (crime) of Delhi Police, Alok Kumar, mentioned that the gang used a mixture of new-age know-how and age-old pyramid scheme to earn cash. The gang made round Rs. 50 crores ($7.8 million) by duping hundreds of unsuspecting patrons earlier than one of many victims referred to as up the police to complain concerning the actions of the corporate. For some motive, the web site in query, ‘kashhcoin.web’, was nonetheless accessible at press time, however we’ll advise our readers to train warning whereas accessing it.
In response to DCP (crime) Bhisham Singh, “To lure buyers, they organized seminars in a number of cities and referred to as eminent personalities to impress individuals. These seminars noticed big turnouts. Movies of those seminars have been then uploaded on YouTube and social media websites. Particulars of these attending these occasions are being verified”. A Bhojpuri actor and a Bollywood actress are additionally mentioned to be among the many individuals who endorsed Kashhcoin, though, it isn’t instantly clear whether or not they’re additionally below investigation for complicity or worse.
