New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against an Indian national for allegedly duping a US citizen into depositing $1,30,000 in a cryptocurrency wallet, on the pretext of saving him from fraudsters.
The accused posed as a ‘James Carlson’, working with the fraud department of an MNC, and tricked the American by raising an alarm that his Social Security Number was being targeted by scamsters, according to a statement issued by the CBI.
The Social Security Number is a 9-digit number issued to American citizens, permanent residents and eligible non-immigrant workers in the US. It is used to report wages to the government, track social security benefits and for other identification purposes.
The accused gained the trust of the victim by sharing the fake QR code of the US Treasury and sending fake emails in the name of the Federal Trade Commission to convince him that he was depositing his money in US government accounts, the CBI statement said.
The victim was “misguided” to deposit USD 1,30,000 in the bitcoin address of the accused after he withdrew the amount from his bank in 11 days between 30 August, 2022, and 9 September, 2022, according to the agency.
“It was further alleged that the accused also misguided the victim that people in 4 different States had used the Social Security Number of the victim to open Accounts of the said MNC,” read the statement.
“The accused induced the victim to withdraw cash from his bank accounts and deposit the same in Bitcoin at RockitCoin ATM Wallet and shared a QR code falsely informing him that the same was opened by the US Treasury for the victim. The accused also emailed a fake letter dated 20.09.2022 purportedly issued by the Federal Trade Commission, USA to gain the trust of the victim.”
Based on the inputs shared by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the CBI raided premises of the accused and two of his accomplices in Ahmedabad and seized cryptocurrencies worth $9,30,000 as well as mobile phones, and laptops which have incriminating materials.
Probe is on to arrest the absconding accused and his accomplices, the CBI said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)