The police of the Indian city of Jamnagar detained a group of crypto scammers who offered gullible investors to buy fake USDT stablecoins at half the face value.

Law enforcement agencies collected evidence by gaining access to laptops and mobile gadgets of the detainees. The scammers chose the crypto asset because of its popularity among crypto traders and low volatility. The police noted that the characteristics of the tokens issued as USDT stablecoins and the details of the transactions were similar to those of a genuine asset, which made it difficult for inexperienced users to identify.

The group created social media profiles through which they interacted with potential victim investors. The scammers offered services to create a cryptocurrency wallet and purchase a popular crypto asset at half the market price.

After the victim received a fictitious USDT transfer to a cryptocurrency wallet using a fake smart contract and transferred funds to the scammers, their access to the wallet and messengers was blocked. Jamnagar city law enforcement agencies report that the investigation is ongoing, and the number of victims and the amount of damage is not yet final.

Previously, the US Drug Enforcement Administration mistakenly sent confiscated USDT stablecoins worth more than $55,000 to an attacker who spoofed the address of the US Marshals Service.