BENGALURU Over 700 accounts were blocked in the April-September 2022 period by crypto exchange WazirX. The exchange on Monday released the third edition of its transparency report that said the majority of the accounts blocked were due to requests that came in from users.
The report also highlights common trends observed in crypto scams that users should be aware of. The crypto exchange has received 828 queries from Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) against a total of 10 million transactions on the platform during April-September 2022. Of the total, 764 were by Indian agencies. The most number of requests came in from regulators and law enforcement agencies in Maharashtra.
Illegal fund transfers, crypto scams, cheating, and forgery were the most common types of crimes reported, resembling scams in the traditional financial sector, the report said. The exchange also said that the recommended statutory Turnaround Time (TAT) for responding to LEA requests is up to 72 hrs from the time a request is received. “However, with the help of efficient communication channels, WazirX clocked an average TAT as miniscule as 18 minutes for sending the first cut reply,” it said.
The crypto exchange has witnessed a growth in LEA requests pertaining to social engineering scams. Social engineering attacks are usually conducted through emails, phone calls, and even text messages. In Bandra, Mumbai, Maharashtra, the WazirX team helped identify wallets linked to Chinese loan apps which were used to dupe people through fraudulent transactions. “Under various pretexts ranging from credit card expiry to bank account validation, the scammer tends to flag off a sense of urgency and fear with the aim to push victims to take action without careful assessment,” it said.