Despite the growing popularity of cryptocurrency, scams remain one of the biggest problems the industry faces today. Indian police officials recently shut down a major cryptocurrency scam which may have defrauded users for nearly two full years. It is evident that such contraptions will need to be shut down sooner rather than later, as they continue to tarnish the reputation of Bitcoin.
Another Indian Bitcoin Scam
One has to acknowledge the popularity of cryptocurrency these days. Consumers all over the world are looking for reliable and convenient methods to invest in cryptocurrency without buying Bitcoin or altcoins directly. Why they prefer this approach remains a bit unclear, as cryptocurrency is all about controlling one’s own funds at all times. Trusting a third party service provider seems to be rather counterproductive in this regard.
Even so, there is a growing need for companies which allow consumers to get involved in cryptocurrencies through slightly unorthodox methods. In India, one such project was recently shut down by police officials in the city of Thane. Even though the company had operated for nearly two full years under the guise of a real estate firm, the team was actually running a major cryptocurrency scam.
According to local sources, the cryptocurrency scam may have scammed users for hundreds of crores. One crore is equal to ten million Indian rupees. As such, this company defrauded users to the tune of at least one billion rupees, or close to $15 million. That is quite a successful cryptocurrency scam in its own regard, although the investigation is still underway and these numbers remain subject to change.
During the raid on this company, investigators identified another location linked to the exact same cryptocurrency scam. It also appears some police personnel may have been involved in the scam, although that remains a bit unclear at this stage. In any event, it was a profitable cryptocurrency scam operated by The Flintstone Group, which is relatively well-known across Asia.
Anyone who invested in this particular scam was promised housing, as well as citizenship in African and Caribbean countries. The cryptocurrency which users were buying from the company would purportedly become legal tender in these regions, although it is evident that MoneyTradeCoin was never designed to become a mainstream means of payment. Considering that investors were also promised high returns on their investment alongside these other benefits, it’s not hard to see why the project was so successful.
All of this further confirms that cryptocurrency scams will continue to cause issues over the next few years. Until consumers learn to conduct proper investigation themselves, scams like this one will continue to proliferate. Unfortunately, it is still too easy for scams to attract investors from all over the world, and that situation will seemingly not change anytime soon.