Kerala Man falls prey to fake cryptocurrency app, loses Rs 6 lakh

KOCHI:  Think twice before you invest money through digital apps expecting attractive returns in cryptocurrency. A Kakkanad resident has lost Rs 6 lakh after investing in a cryptocurrency app, lured by high returns. The cyber police have registered a case in that regard after the person, who originally belongs to Koorkenchery in Thrissur, lodged a complaint on July 23. 

The related incident took place in 2021. The complainant invested Rs 6 lakh in an app named My Token which was dealing with a cryptocurrency named USDT. The investment was made in February 2021. Since the first week of March that year, the complainant receive neither any returns nor the money he invested. Though the person tried to contact the app operators, there was no response.

According to officers with the Kochi Cyber Crime police station, attempts are being made to trace the app operators. The case has been registered under various sections of IPC and the IT Act. “It is a very difficult task to trace the people who operate these fake apps. When complaints are received, the app involved in bogus activities is taken down. That makes tracing the app operators even more complicated. In this crypto case, we will be requesting Google to share information regarding the app,” a police officer said.

Google Playstore has an app named MyToken-Crypto OnChain Tracker, with a rating of only 1.6 on a five-point scale. Plenty of people have posted reviews about losing money after investing in cryptocurrency using the app. However, MyToken has also replied that an Indian app has used their names and that they too have become victims of the scam. “Our MyToken app was launched earlier and has no transaction function. We have nothing to do with MyToken in India,” read a reply to one complaint.

Advocate Jiyas Jamal, an expert in cyber security law and founder of Kochi-based NGO Cyber Suraksha Foundation, said cyber awareness is the only way to prevent such fraudsters from taking away people’s money. “The authenticity of investment apps must be double-checked before putting hard-earned money in them,” he said.