A man in the United Kingdom lost Rs 3 crore (£300,000) in a cryptocurrency scam, a Guardian report said. In January, a friend contacted the man after he had started using a cryptocurrency app, which was allegedly US-based.
The man was informed that the app's strategy was to make money from buying and selling cryptocurrency in different exchanges by spotting price differences. The app apparently used artificial intelligence bots which would search the markets and alert during discrepancies. "I was told I had been 'lucky' to be selected for an increased airdrop at $400,000, with even greater rewards for participating. This was done without any sort of permission from myself," he said.
The man was asked to set up a crypto wallet, which permits users to send, receive and spend cryptocurrencies and link with the app. This meant that the bots were able to keep track of the balance and the man would get regular updates about the same.
After investing a small sum, the man was told that the minimum balance in his wallet should be 8.4 crore (£8,280) for him to continue. "Over the next couple of months the account accrued profits at approximately 1% a day. There were never any loss-making days. It all worked as expected," he said.
The first signs of suspicion emerged when the man was enrolled in a $200,000 airdrop by the app's customer services, when he had requested for an $100,000 airdrop.
He raised a complaint, but was told nothing could be done at that point in time. "I was very tempted to give up at this point but, after some research, I found that airdrops were common and that once the terms of them are met, funds are released. I therefore cobbled together whatever savings I could and completed the airdrop," he said.
Later, the man was informed that he was chosen for a $400,000 airdrop and the selection was made without informing him about the same. "I was told I had been ‘lucky’ to be selected for an increased airdrop at $400,000, with even greater rewards for participating. This was done without any sort of permission from myself.
"At this point I really smelled this to be a scam, and I started to realise how powerless I was. I should have stopped here, but whether it was my stubbornness, my curiosity to see how this ends or just blind faith that I would get my cash back, I did everything I could to top up the additional $200,000," he added.
The man had lost more than Rs 3 crore by July and said that he had reported the loss of money to different police authorities such as National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom and the FBI in the United States.
"I now feel a sense of relief. I was tired of living in a state of hoping mixed with frustration mixed with anger mixed with my own disappointment in myself," he said.
The man has also consulted an ombudsman service in the United Kingdom, regarding his case and urged others to stay vigilant of scams of similar kind.
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