American tourist claims $123K in bitcoin and XRP stolen in fake Uber 'Devil's Breath' attack in London
An American tourist, Jacob Irwin-Cline, claims he was abducted and drugged by a fake Uber driver in London, resulting in the theft of his life savings of $123,000 in bitcoin and
XRP +0.30%
amid rising cases of criminals targeting wealthy crypto holders, according to local police.
The 30-year-old former software developer from Portland, Oregon, was visiting the UK on a brief layover when he left a Soho bar and was allegedly lured into a fraudulent rideshare by someone posing as his Uber driver, calling out the alias he had saved as his name in the app, local media outlet MyLondon initially reported on Wednesday.
Irwin-Cline told MyLondon that the driver, who introduced himself as Mohammed, resembled the photo shown in his app, but he didn't have time to check the license plate or vehicle details against what was listed on his phone. Having reportedly later asked the venue for CCTV footage of the incident under GDPR data protection laws, Irwin-Cline said it was a "dark sedan" that pulled up, and not the Toyota Prius that was advertised on the Uber app. He believes the driver was operating an Uber account linked to the Prius that was being driven by an accomplice.
Irwin-Cline believes the driver spiked a cigarette he offered him with scopolamine — a powerful and rare sedative known as "Devil’s Breath" — causing memory blackouts and extreme suggestibility. He recalled handing over his phone and passcode to apps while slipping in and out of consciousness, before being dumped in a London suburb and run over by a car, which left him injured and without his phone in the early hours of May 9. Irwin-Cline said he asked for toxicology reports from the local hospital and police, but no tests were ordered, making verification difficult.$BTC
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