After the rise of the crypto culture in India, the number of scams plaguing the sector have also seen an escalation in recent times. To help police officials stay ahead of crypto scammers, the Kanpur’s Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has decide to step in.
A team from IIT-K is developing a tool to analyse crypto transactions to check their authenticity.
This tool would be able to help UP police check and identify fraudulent crypto transactions.
The name of this tool is ‘HOP’ and it is expect to be ready for use in the next three months.
Sandeep Shukla, Professor, IIT-K was quote Said :
“The tool is cheaper than any foreign equipment. By September, our tool will be ready to serve the UP police and help in investigations in cases of cryptocurrency fraud,”.
Detail information about HOP remains await for now, but its conceptulisation and introduction of this tool is indicative of India’s attention strengthening around monitoring the crypto sector.
Crypto fraud in India have rise around the country.
Unsuspecting members of the crypto community are often target via social media.
In 2021, fake crypto websites register 9.6 million visits from India, a report by Chainalysis had claim in January.
Many of these websites are create to unlawfully collect the personal information of the visitors without their consent or knowledge.
Names, emails, and phone numbers among many other sensitive details of potential crypto investors are often collect by these malicious websites, exposing them to the risks of being scam again.
In December 2021, at least 900 people were identified to have defraud out of over $161 million (approx. Rs. 1,200 crore) in Kerala owing to a crypto scam.
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently investigating a mega crypto scam that reportedly amount to Rs. 2,000 crore.
The men under inquiry include cybercrime expert Pankaj Ghode and former police officer Ravindra Patil who have arrest and are being investigate on charges of manipulating evidences and stealing a total of 1,137 Bitcoins while working on the original crypto scam case.
