In October 2023, scammers contacted the artist on social networks and showed him the nfttradeplace platform, assuring him that they wanted to purchase his paintings for this platform for 42 ETH. Negotiations were conducted via email and Facebook. The artist, whose name local law enforcement officials refuse to specify, accepted the offer and offered three of his works for 10 ETH, and another for 12 ETH.
After the first sale of a collectible item, the artist requested a withdrawal of 6 ETH. On February 1, 2024, the scammers asked the victim to transfer 0.115 ETH as a “gas fee.” The man agreed to make a payment from his cryptocurrency address, which he created according to the instructions of the scammers. The man waited several days, but the transaction was never completed. After repeated verification, the attackers asked the artist to “complete payment” in order to speed up the withdrawal of funds.
Since the NFT creator did not have ether, he asked the scammers to accept payment in their usual currency. Naturally, the scammers agreed to the request, and the victim transferred the money to them in four payments. The deceived man told the police that after transferring rupees, the platform again asked him for money to withdraw 6 ETH. It was then that the elderly Indian realized that he had been deceived, after which he turned to law enforcement officers.
Recently, Indian police seized $12 million from Raj Kundra, husband of famous local actress Shilpa Shetty. The police suspect him of involvement in the fraudulent crypto scheme Gain Bitcoin, where investors invested $800 million.
Source: Bits
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