Local artist and practicing chartered accountant Shivaprasad R (name changed) recently fell victim to a scam, losing INR 1.58 lakhs (approximately $1895) in fees. Shivaprasad, whose work has been showcased in local exhibitions and on social media, was lured by scammers claiming to be “NFT art dealers” to a platform called nfttradeplace.com in October 2023.
The negotiations were conducted virtually, mostly via email and Facebook. Under the impression that the scammers were legitimate, Shivaprasad listed three of his artworks for sale for 10 ETH each and another for 12 ETH.
After completing his first sale, he attempted to withdraw 6 ETH but encountered delays. When he questioned the delay, he was asked to pay a “delay fee” that was not initially disclosed on the website.
Despite not possessing any ETH, Shivaprasad agreed to pay the fee in fiat currency and made multiple payments to the scammers. Realizing he had been scammed, Shivaprasad reported the incident to the cyber police and filed charges under specific sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Authorities face challenges in tracing cryptocurrency trails, but they are actively seeking the bank and domain details associated with the scammers.