The cybercrime unit of Hyderabad police on Saturday arrested a fraudster who duped a person of ₹8.5 lakh in a cryptocurrency fraud through his digital trading platform.
The accused, identified as S. Ramakrishna Reddy, 41, was traced to Anna Nagar, Chennai. He was operating a cryptocurrency exchange, Bitcoin India Software Services Pvt. Ltd., under the guise of a legitimate trading platform through Bitcoin India Wallet and Exchange application and website.
The case came to light when a 35-year-old resident of Jubilee Hills lodged a complaint stating that he purchased 2,56,416 units of Siacoin (SC) worth ₹8,49,585, through the Bitcoin India platform. However, his account was suddenly suspended for unspecified reasons and marked as being under review. The victim managed to regain access to his account only to find his balance and portfolio wiped clean, displaying zero funds and an overdue status. Despite repeated attempts to seek clarification from Bitcoin India’s customer support, he was informed that his funds had been deducted as a ‘maintenance fee’.
Investigation revealed that Reddy along with his brother devised a scheme to defraud cryptocurrency traders through their company. They lured investors into purchasing cryptocurrency, only to later seize their funds under the pretext of maintenance charges. When customers attempted to reach out for assistance, they went incommunicado.
Following the case, the police advised users to download applications only from official sources such as the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and verify deposit addresses before transferring funds as scammers often manipulate transaction details through malware.
Published – February 22, 2025 09:02 pm IST
