In a surprising turn of events, Indian politician Sam Pitroda’s laptop and cell phone got hacked with scammers asking for ransom in cryptocurrency.
On December 7th, the Indian Overseas Congress Chairperson Sam Pitroda said that his server, laptop, and cell phone had all been compromised in the last few days.
The hackers have threatened to damage his reputation if he doesn’t pay the tens of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency that they have demanded.
The hack comes at a time when India has been grappled with multiple illicit activities that have some or the other connection with cryptocurrency. This has made various regulators and those in power highly alert and vigilant about the sector.
Notable Indian Politician Faces Device Hack
In an email to the Indian news organization ANI, Pitroda stated, “I want to draw your attention to something very important. Over the past few weeks, my laptop, smartphone, and server have all been heavily compromised and hacked on multiple occasions.”
Threats have been made by the hackers, who want tens of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency. Pitroda continued, “They have threatened to contact people in my network and start a smear and disinformation campaign to damage my reputation if they are not paid.”
Pitroda also cautioned in his email that anyone connected to him should not click on or reply to any emails or messages because they may contain malware that compromises devices.
India Faces Multiple Illegal Activities Involving Cryptocurrencies
With the growth of cryptocurrencies in India, the nation has seen a rise in illicit activities involving cryptocurrencies.
In order to stop illicit activities in the crypto industry, India’s ED has been closely monitoring the sector. Just previously, the Enforcement Directorate of India has apprehended another suspect in money laundering connected to the cryptocurrency industry.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested two chartered accountants and a cryptocurrency trader on December 4th as part of a money laundering investigation linked to a cyber fraud case worth Rs 640 crore ($76.7 million).
Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate had seized more assets in India and Dubai, totaling approximately Rs 106 crore ($12 million), as part of an investigation into Chinese nationals who were involved in a cryptocurrency scam in the small state of Nagaland.
The total amount seized in this case to date is more than Rs 603 crore ($71.4 million). The defendants, many of whom were Indian nationals, not only played games and placed bets online, but they also used “HPZ Token” to search for investments.