Losses from crypto scams surge by 45% in US, India loses $44 mn in 2023
India ranked fifth globally in terms of the number of cryptocurrency-related complaints, with 840 cases reported, according to the report.
The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police nabbed Sivaram, suspected to be the key conspirator in the HiBox application scam, which duped people on a promise of high returns for their investment with the assurance of daily interest rates ranging from one to five percent.
Through the approximately Rs 500 scam, over 30,000 people were defrauded by the app promoted by various social media influencers. However, since July first week, the app withheld the payments of the participants on some pretext or the other, like technical glitches and legal issues among others.
According to the police, the app, owned by a company named Satrulla Xpress Private Limited, was created in February this year.
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“The main accused and co-accused came in contact in December 2022 and started hatching a conspiracy and by July 2023, they started executing the plans by doing background work like developing the application, getting payment gateways, opening bank accounts, and opening office,” stated a police official.
The IFSO has received 127 formal complaints so far and served notices to the social media influencers: Saurav Joshi, Abhishek Malhan, Fukra Insaan, Purav Jha, Elvish Yadav, Bharti Singh and Harsh Limbachiya, Lakshay Choudhary, Adarsh Singh, Amit @ Crazy XYZ, and Dilraj Singh Rawat to join the investigation.
HiBox is a mobile application through which the culprits lured innocent individuals with the help of social media influencers to invest in the platform as it promised guaranteed returns ranging from 30 to 90 per cent per month.
Responding to the social media marketing of the app, people invested their hard-earned money till the platform stopped releasing funds and the company disappeared after closing its Noida office.
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