How smoking 1 cigarette in Uber cab made man lose Rs 1 crore

A former American software engineer lost more than Rs 1 crore worth of cryptocurrency in a shocking incident in London, after being allegedly drugged and robbed by a man pretending to be an Uber driver.

Jacob Irwin-Cline, 30, from Portland, Oregon, was in London for a two-day stopover on his way to Spain. On the night of May 9, after spending the evening at a nightclub in Soho, he stepped outside around 1:30 am. As he was waiting for his Uber, a man called out his name, giving the impression that he was the driver Irwin-Cline had booked. Without confirming the car model or number plate, Jacob got in.

Inside the car, the driver offered him a cigarette. Trusting the situation, Jacob accepted and smoked it. Soon after, he started feeling extremely drowsy and oddly calm. He suspects that the cigarette was laced with scopolamine, a dangerous sedative often used by criminals to make victims lose control.

"I lost USD 123,000 worth of crypto and assets. They took the majority of my wealth," he told the local media outlet MyLondon.

He vaguely remembers being half-conscious and giving away some of his passcodes and access keys to apps. After that, the fake driver left him in an unfamiliar part of the city and even ran him over with the car before speeding off. Jacob eventually made his way back to his hostel, only to discover that his phone was gone, his laptop had been remotely wiped, and he had been locked out of all his financial accounts.

When he finally regained access to his digital wallets, it was too late, all of his cryptocurrency had already been drained. Though he reported the incident to the British police, no suspects have been caught yet and the stolen money remains unrecovered.

“This money is basically gone unless some kind of miracle happens,” Jacob said, highlighting how hard it is to trace or retrieve stolen crypto.

His experience adds to a growing number of violent crimes targeting crypto investors globally. Just days before, an Italian crypto investor, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, was reportedly kidnapped and tortured in New York City. His alleged attackers included another crypto investor who tried to forcefully gain access to his digital wallets.

These chilling events serve as a strong reminder of the risks involved in handling digital assets and the importance of personal safety and verification when dealing with strangers — even those who appear to be trustworthy.