Crypto scam involvement of youths in Lucknow driven by desire for extravagant lifestyle, as per police reports.
In a recent development, the Cyber Crime Cell and the Cyber Crime Police Station in Lucknow have arrested eight individuals for their alleged involvement in an international cyber fraud racket. The group, composed mainly of young men aged 19 to 28, was lured into the scheme through Telegram job groups.
The preferred medium for moving funds in this fraud case was USDT, a cryptocurrency with global reach and anonymity. This digital currency, pegged to the U.S. dollar, has been implicated in various international cyber fraud cases due to its fast and relatively anonymous transactions across international borders.
The young men, who aspired for a flashy lifestyle, quick money, and social media-driven notions of success, were tasked with laundering approximately ₹1.77 crore through multiple bank accounts. They followed commands from handlers abroad and kept changing locations within the building where they operated to evade capture.
One of the accused admitted to funding outings with his girlfriend, while another cited pressure to maintain a luxurious lifestyle. The group operated from DLF My Pad, frequently switching rooms every one to two days to avoid detection. The scam proceeds were converted into USDT and routed abroad.
The use of USDT in this case underscores the need for enhanced cooperation between law enforcement and cryptocurrency companies to combat such activities. The digital currency has been exploited in various schemes to launder funds or bypass sanctions. For instance, a significant money laundering operation on the OKX exchange involved large volumes of USDT, with over 144 accounts traced back to IP addresses in the Philippines.
Moreover, cybercriminals use complex blockchain networks to disperse illicit funds across numerous cryptocurrency addresses and accounts, making tracking and seizing the funds more challenging. The U.S. DOJ has seized $225.3 million in USDT from such a network.
USDT has also been used to evade international sanctions by facilitating transactions for sanctioned entities. Iurii Gugnin, a Russian national, allegedly laundered over $530 million using his cryptocurrency companies, exploiting USDT to bypass U.S. sanctions and support sanctioned Russian entities.
These examples illustrate how Tether's USDT can be misused in international cyber fraud, highlighting the need for vigilance and effective measures to combat such activities. The arrests in Lucknow are a testament to the ongoing efforts of law enforcement agencies to tackle cybercrime and protect citizens from financial exploitation.
- The international cybercrime community has increasingly resorted to USDT, a cryptocurrency with global reach and anonymity, as the preferred medium for moving funds in various fraud cases.
- The general-news landscape has been increasingly dominated by reports of cybercrime, with crimes such as the one in Lucknow involving USDT and its exploitation in money laundering schemes and evasion of international sanctions.
- In the realm of crime-and-justice, the increasing use of digital currencies like USDT in international cybercrimes underscores the importance of collaboration between law enforcement and technology companies to ensure the appropriate regulation of cryptocurrency usage.
