A cryptocurrency fraud involving seniors got three individuals behind bars in Delhi-NCR. They were able to steal more than $30 million worth of Bitcoin by posing as tech support and law enforcement. Their job was to defraud individuals of their money by setting up phony call centers. Additionally, a Dubai-based partner assisted in turning the cryptocurrency into cash.
Three scammers got busted in Delhi-NCR for running a massive crypto scam. They targeted older people in the US and Canada. So basically, they set up fake call centers and pretended to be cops, tech support, and even companies like Amazon and Microsoft, convincing victims to send over $30 million in Bitcoin.
The crew, led by Tushar Kharbanda, Gaurav Malik, and Ankit Jain, pressured seniors into transferring big amounts of money through Bitcoin ATMs. Jain was in charge of managing the stolen crypto and converting it into cash through a partner in Dubai.
They hired over 150 tele-callers to act as fake law enforcement officers, and even went as far as pretending to be the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Victims, scared they were involved in illegal activities, transferred huge sums in Bitcoin. In one case, they sent over 93K Canadian Dollars.
The CBI took action after getting a tip from RCMP. Their base got raided and the scammers’ locations and finding devices with scripts for other fraud schemes were collected. This bust shows how dangerous crypto scams are becoming, especially for vulnerable older people.
