Fake crypto scheme using ‘Bitop’ app busted

NEW DELHI: The Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police has busted an organised syndicate involved in duping multiple victims through a fake USDT (Tether cryptocurrency) investment scheme.

According to the police, six cyber fraudsters were arrested, and five mobile phones, one laptop, and four bank passbooks used in the crime were recovered.

The accused lured victims through Facebook Messenger by promising high returns on USDT trading via a fake crypto trading app named ‘Bitop’.

One complainant was cheated of Rs 10 lakh and was later asked to pay a 30 per cent “clearance fee” when attempting to withdraw his supposed earnings, triggering a police investigation.

An FIR was registered under the BNS, and a dedicated cyber team led by Inspector Hansraj Swami and supervised by ACP Arvind Kumar began investigating.

The operation began with the interrogation of Garima Singh in Mirzapur, U.P., who had provided her bank account for Rs 1,000.

Her disclosures led to the arrest of Alok Singh and Avinash Verma, who had arranged multiple bank accounts and sold them to the gang’s mastermind, Himanshu Baisoya, for Rs 15,000 each.

Baisoya, a BCA graduate and the key orchestrator, withdrew the scammed funds and converted them into USDT with the help of his associates Simranjeet Singh and Kamal Insan, both based in Delhi.

Police urged caution against crypto scams, advising the public not to share banking details and to report frauds via 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in. Investigation continues.