The fraudster attempted to sell the ‘Statue of Unity’ which is located in the western state of Gujarat in India, claiming that the proceeds from the sale would be used to help the state government fund its fight against the coronavirus pandemic. 

The statue is nearly twice the height of New York’s Statue of Liberty and depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the founding fathers of India.

Police in India said that the scam is part of a larger trend showing an increase in cybercrimes amid the worldwide COVID-19 crisis. 

With scams ranging from free mobile recharges, to offers of free Netflix subscriptions, federal home ministry officials say there has been an 86%  rise in cybercrime in the country in the past four weeks, Reuters reports.