In the era of going digital, several things catch our attention. While we have a better reach, there are downsides to it too. With people exposing themself more and more, it’s getting easier to scam people for their money and get away with it. Millennials, supposed to be the tech-savvy generation, fall prey to these scams the most.
About 69% of consumers in India alone fell prey to online fraud in 2021. Furthermore, According to Microsoft’s global tech support scam research report 2021, a staggering 31% of Indians lost money to an online scam, the highest in the world.
In India, getting scammed is nothing new, and a survey by private firm Localcircles proved it. It reported that 42% of Indians surveyed were scammed in the past three years, and a tiny amount of 26% managed to get their money back among them. The remaining 74% were never able to recover their money and lost forever.
Among all these scams, one online scam rocked the internet and made headlines, shocking netizens across the internet. That is the e-nuggets scams of 2022.
Table of Contents
What is the E Nuggets app?
E Nuggets was a gaming application not available on the Play Store or apple store due to their policies but could be downloaded from the internet. The model of this app was to get users to keep their money in the e-nuggets app to get a commission on deposits made, and with that money, the users could play different games offered on the platform.
The app had a wallet that encouraged people to deposit their money and receive a commission in return. It promised that the money would be transferable to the user’s bank account.
E Nuggets app scam details
The app had a wallet that encouraged people to deposit their money and receive a commission in return. It promised that the money would be transferable to the user’s bank account.
The app initially paid a handsome commission to lure the customers in, who were greedy and decided to pour more money into it.
The latest news about e nuggets app
E nuggets app emerged as a scam and shocked the internet due to the type of the scam. On Saturday, 10th September 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided six premises in Kolkata and was surprised to find their involvement in money laundering.
The ED released a statement which stated that they conducted the search operations under the provisions of PMLA (preventions of money laundering act) by the FIR bearing No. 30 of 2021 dated 15/02/2021 filed U/s 420, 406, 409, 468, 469, 471, 34 of IPC. The FIR was filed in February 2021, 19 months earlier.
They also released photos showing massive bundles of Rs 500 and Rs 2000 currency notes. They said that the app was designed. I’m in such a way that it is easy to defraud and scam people.
This scam was spread across the country, with an alleged estimate of 60-70 CRS to have been stolen. Among them, some 17 CRS of the scammed money has been recovered. They calculated the recovered money with the help of a currency counting machine.
Is E Nuggets safe?
Let’s get to the point straight. It’s a no! This app was made to scam people of their money and then vanish off the surface of the internet. They had a table where money could be won by the online lottery system in the app itself. The customers who did not see a scam but as an easy opportunity to earn money were given rich rewards at first to lure customers in and to build trust. This was done so that customers deposit more and more money in the app’s wallet.
The money won would go straight to the customer’s bank account, which motivated them to deposit more money and play higher-stakes games.
However, behind the scenes, all of the customers’ information and bank account details went to the app developers, who were the mastermind of the entire scam. According to ED, all withdrawal options were disabled by the app developers after a suitable time. Not only this, the application details of the customers and the servers were also erased from the face of the internet.
App reviews
At first, the customers enjoyed the app as it paid a hefty commission, encouraging users to spend more money on it. The customers kept spending vast amounts of money. Suddenly, the customers could not use the app withdrawal service.
The excuses used to justify the step were bizarre, as they did it under the guise of system upgradation or ongoing law enforcement agency probe. After this, the app developers erased all the data, including the user’s details, from the server.
Following this, in February 2021, an FIR was filed by Park Street Police Station, Kolkata Police.
E Nuggets app Owner details
The mastermind behind the entire scam was a 25-year-old Kolkata resident that goes by the name Amir Khan. He is the son of a transport businessman, Nesar Ahmed Khan.
The probe looks into the possibility of linking the app with other Chinese-controlled apps in the ongoing loan fraud probe.
Conclusion
Everything that glitters is not gold. The nuggets scam took away a lot of hard-earned money from people who got greedy and found a too-good-to-be-true easy way of making more money. While the main conspirator was found in this case, there are plenty of scams on the internet where the main mastermind vanishes into thin air after looting millions from the internet. The e-nuggets app should be a good enough example and lesson for people across the country to beware of internet fraud and not to add or give money to any app without a good enough reason.
FAQ’s
Where should we give our money?
Firstly, if you are purchasing any product, always try to choose an option where you pay after receiving the product or service. Also, The only places where you should be comfortable giving money should be trusted websites that are reputed and have a long history of goodwill.
Which country gets scammed the most?
The country which gets scammed on the internet the most is India. The main factors contributing to it are:
- Large and cheap internet access.
- Lack of proper awareness and education among the masses.
- Poverty.
People get desperate and motivated to earn some quick cash by being in poverty. These factors are being taken advantage of by scammers.
How to spot scams?
One of the best actions to identify a scam is if what they offer is too good to be accurate and ask for cash beforehand.
They will press you to hand over the money quickly and sometimes send links to click and open when it is not required. This gives them access to the user’s bank, which can prove extremely dangerous.