In October 2023, scammers contacted the artist on social networks and showed him the nfttradeplace platform, assuring him that they wanted to purchase his paintings for this platform for 42 ETH. The negotiations were conducted via email and Facebook. The artist, whose name local law enforcement authorities refuse to specify, accepted the offer and exhibited three of his works for 10 ETH, and another one for 12 ETH.
After the first sale of the collectible, the artist requested a withdrawal of 6 ETH. On February 1, 2024, the scammers asked the victim to transfer 0.115 ETH as a "gas fee". The man agreed to make a payment from his cryptocurrency address, which he created according to the instructions of the scammers. The man waited for several days, but the transaction was never completed. After repeated verification, the attackers asked the artist to "complete the payment" in order to speed up the withdrawal of funds.
Since the creator of NFT had no ether, he asked the scammers to accept payment in the usual currency. Naturally, the scammers agreed to the request, and the victim transferred the money to them for four payments. The deceived man told the police that after transferring rupees, the platform again asked him for money to withdraw 6 ETH. It was then that the elderly Indian realized that he had been deceived, and then turned to law enforcement.
Recently, Indian police seized $12 million from Raj Kundra, the wife of the famous local actress Shilpa Shetty. The police suspect him of involvement in the fraudulent Gain Bitcoin cryptosystem, where investors have invested $800 million.