Indian Artist Loses Money in Fake NFT Marketplace Scam

Indian Artist Fooled by Fake NFT Market Scam

A 71-year-old artist from India, Shivaprasad (we're not using his last name), was fooled by people pretending to be art dealers in the digital art world known as NFTs. They took over ₹1.5 lakh from him (that's about $1895).

A fake promise of big sales leads to big losses.

Shivaprasad is a professional artist who has shown his work in local exhibits and posted it on social media. In October 2023, scammers contacted him online, claiming to be NFT art dealers. They convinced him to use a fake platform to sell his art for a hefty sum (42 ETH, or 130808.50 USD). All communication happened online through emails and Facebook messages.

Believing the offer, Shivaprasad listed his artwork on the fake platform. After he supposedly sold some pieces, the scammers asked him to pay a small fee (0.115 ETH) to cover transaction costs. He paid this fee using a crypto wallet he created at their instruction.

However, when Shivaprasad tried to withdraw his earnings (6 ETH), he was met with roadblocks. The scammers kept making excuses and asked him for more money – a "delay fee" this time—something not mentioned earlier and not displayed anywhere on the website.

Since he couldn't withdraw his earnings in cryptocurrency, Shivaprasad convinced the scammers to accept regular money (fiat currency) for the fee. He made four payments to two different accounts, but the problems continued.

The phony platform kept demanding more fees from Shivaprasad before he could access his money. It wasn't until April 2024 that he realized he'd been tricked and reported it to the cyber police.

The police are now investigating the case, but tracking cryptocurrency can be tough. They're currently checking the bank details and email addresses used by the scammers.

This is just one instance of the increasing number of cryptocurrency scams in India. Despite efforts from the police, these scams are on the rise.