Indian police shut down fake crypto trading platform that stole over $90K

As a seasoned crypto investor with over a decade of experience navigating the digital currency landscape, I’ve seen my fair share of scams and fraudulent activities. The recent case of the GBE Crypto Trading Company is yet another unfortunate reminder of the dark side of this industry.


In India, authorities have apprehended four suspects who allegedly ran a fraudulent cryptocurrency trading service. This operation is said to have swindled unsuspecting investors out of approximately $90,000.

As a researcher, I’ve uncovered a disturbing scheme where con artists posed as representatives of a fictitious cryptocurrency trading platform called GBE Crypto Trading Company. It appears they selected this name with the intention to deceive, as it mimics the name of a legitimate online brokerage firm based in Cyprus, GBE Brokers, which is often the top result when searching for “GBE crypto trading company.”

The fraudulent activity was carried out across multiple social media sites, including WhatsApp and Telegram. In these spaces, the con artists spread a sham trading app. To hide their actions, it’s said that they utilized fake phone numbers and Virtual Private Network (VPN) services.

The Cyber Police Station in Balangir, Odisha, discovered that some registered domains were used as part of a fraudulent scheme and pretended to be genuine trading platforms. It’s yet undetermined if the people behind this scam were posing as GBE Brokers.

Using these tactics, the scammers reportedly managed to amass inr 7,600,000 (roughly $90,604).

Rishikesh Khilari, who holds the position of Superintendent of Balangir Police, stated that around 60 bank accounts linked to the fraud have been blocked, with a sum of approximately INR 85 lakhs (around $101,334) being confiscated during the reporting period.

In January 2024, the Balangir cyber police put an end to a fraudulent scheme involving a non-legitimate cryptocurrency known as Dykan coin. Similar to the GBE crypto trading company, the con artists established a bogus crypto exchange called DYFINEX and provided trading and staking services to attract investors.

Due to lax regulations and low understanding of digital currencies among the population, India continues to be an attractive spot for cryptocurrency swindlers. Consequently, fraudulent activities involving non-existent cryptocurrencies, deceitful trading platforms, and dubious investment opportunities frequently prey on individual investors.

2024 saw one major event centered around the clampdown on the E-nugget scam, a deceitful investment tactic that amassed approximately 10.7 million dollars in cryptocurrencies. Another Ponzi scheme, exposed in August, was found to have resulted in losses exceeding 890 thousand dollars under the guise of a fictitious cryptocurrency known as Emollient Coin.

It seems that authorities in India are currently drafting a proposed document, which they plan to release by the end of this year. This paper is anticipated to serve as a blueprint for future laws concerning the cryptocurrency industry.

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2024-08-26 12:46