Robbers Pose as Bitcoin Traders in India, Arrested

A gang of youngsters, who thought they could make a quick buck by posing as Bitcoin traders and robbing businessmen, have been arrested by the Delhi police.

Modus operandi

A group of six people who posed as Bitcoin traders and robbed a businessman of INR 3.6 mln ($55,000) have been arrested by the police in Delhi, the capital of India. The businessman had earlier registered his personal details on LocalBitcoins.com. He received a call from a woman, who introduced herself as Karishma Rajput and offered to sell him Bitcoins at a very good price. When the businessman met her with cash at a mall to complete the transaction, he was led to an apartment in the nearby town of Ghaziabad, where he was robbed. He was then thrashed and let off with a warning not to approach the police.

Banking on silence of the victims

This particular gang had robbed two other persons before running out of luck. Often, the victims who are robbed hesitate to approach the police if the money which has been robbed is unaccounted for. They are then wary about disclosing the source of the money robbed to the police, which might result in the police taking action against them. These criminals were banking on the victims not approaching the police but were unlucky the third time. The police arrested six gang members, which included a bankrupt property salesman, a law college graduate and his girlfriend.

Too good to be true

The gang of robbers offered to sell the businessman Bitcoins at Rs 72,000 ($1,100), which is a whopping 70 percent discount to the current market price of Bitcoin. This should set alarm bells ringing in any rational person’s mind. They offered further discounts if the businessman paid in cash, instead of bank transfer. Unfortunately, this businessman took the bait and agreed to buy the Bitcoins. When something looks too good to be true, it definitely isn’t in the crypto world.