IIT Kanpur Designing Tool To Assist UP Police Crack Crypto Scams Amid Rising Cases In India

The name of this tool is ‘HOP’ and it is expected to be ready for use in the next three months.

With the rise of the crypto culture in India, the number of scams plaguing the sector have also seen an escalation in recent times. In a bid to help police officials stay ahead of crypto scammers, the Kanpur campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has decided 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 is expected to be available within the next three months.

“The tool is cheaper than any foreign equipment. By September, our tool will be ready to serve the UP police and assist in the investigation of cryptocurrency cases,” said Sandeep Shukla, professor, IIT-K.

Detailed information on the HOP is now to be expected, but the conceptualization and implementation of this tool means strengthening India’s attention to crypto sector control.

Recently, crypto-fraud in India is increasing across the country. Unsuspecting members of the crypto-community are often targeted through social networks.

In 2021 alone, the fake crypto website received 9.6 million visits from India, a Chainalysis report said in January.

Many of these websites are created for the purpose of illegally collecting personal information from visitors without their permission or knowledge. Names, emails, and phone numbers, in addition to other sensitive information about potential cryptoinvestors, are often collected by these malicious websites, exposing them to the risk of re-fraud.

In December last year, at least 900 people were identified in Kerala who had been robbed of more than $ 161 million (almost 1,200 million rupees) in Kerala by crypto-fraud. Victims were reportedly lured into investing in an “initial coin offering”.

India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently investigating a mega crypto scam that reportedly amounted to Rs. 2,000 crore. The men under inquiry include cybercrime expert Pankaj Ghode and former police officer Ravindra Patil who have been arrested and are being investigated on charges of manipulating evidences and stealing a total of 1,137 Bitcoins while working on the original crypto scam case.

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