American tourist anesthetized and $123,000 in cryptocurrency stolen by fake Uber driver in London

An American tourist in the British capital, London, fell victim to a complex fraud and theft that resulted in the loss of cryptocurrencies valued at approximately $123,000 after getting into a vehicle driven by someone impersonating an 'Uber' driver.

According to British media, the victim, named Jacob Irwin-Klein (30 years old), was on a short visit to the United Kingdom, and while returning from a night out in the Soho area, he requested a car through the 'Uber' app, but got into a different vehicle driven by someone who introduced himself as 'Mohammed' and used the victim's name registered in the app, making him appear credible.

The victim explained that the driver offered him a cigarette, believed to contain a narcotic substance. After a few minutes of smoking it, he lost consciousness and later woke up to find himself thrown in the street, having lost his phone that contained the access data to his cryptocurrency wallets.

Irwin-Klein confirmed that his digital wallet was hacked, and the equivalent of $123,000 was stolen. Despite filing a report with British authorities and contacting the Cyber Crime Unit at the FBI, he indicated that he had little hope of recovering his money.