The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against an accused of duping a United States citizen over the phone. It was alleged that the said accused (an Indian National) contacted a US citizen over the phone under the pseudonymous identity of “James Carlson”, introducing himself from a Fraud Department of a Multi-National Company falsely informing the victim that someone had been trying to order a computer using Account of the victim (as available on said MNC).
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 said MNC. It was also alleged that the accused induced the victim to withdraw cash from his bank accounts and deposit the same in Bitcoin at Rocket Coin 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 September 20, 2022, purportedly issued by the Federal Trade Commission, USA to gain the trust of the victim. In response to the aforementioned inducement, the victim allegedly withdrew US$ 1,30,000 from his bank accounts on various dates between August 30, 2022, and September 9, 2022, and deposited it in the accused’s Bitcoin address. The accused subsequently fraudulently misappropriated the same, defrauding the victim to the tune of USD 1,30,000. The inputs were received from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, USA.
Searches were conducted at the premises of the accused in Ahmedabad which led to the recovery and seizure of cryptocurrencies– Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, USDT, worth 9.3 lakh US Dollars (approx.) from the crypto wallets of the accused and incriminating material. During searches, the involvement of two other persons, both residents of Ahmedabad has also surfaced. Therefore, searches were also conducted at the premises of said persons which resulted in the recovery of mobile phones, laptops containing incriminating material, etc.
Further investigation is underway.
