A 50-year-old resident of Ghansoli was cheated out of Rs 24 lakh by cyber fraudsters who promised him early access to his insurance money.
The victim, who was not identified by police, received a WhatsApp message in December 2023 regarding a pre-maturity insurance claim. When he expressed interest, fraudsters contacted him from five different phone numbers.
After he shared his policy details from a private insurance company, the fraudsters, posing as Avdhesh Mishra, Manohar Patel, Rajiv Dutt Sharma, Rajesh Singh, and Ajay Gupta, instructed him to transfer money for various charges.
The victim transferred a total of Rs 24,22,935 to accounts provided by the fraudsters between December 26, 2023, and February 21, 2024, according to police.
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He never received the promised insurance claim and realized he had been cheated. He then filed a complaint with the Koparkhairane police.
The Koparkhairane police station registered a case on April 5 under sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 66D (impersonation causing damage) of the Information Technology Act, 2008 (amended).
"We have contacted the bank where the money was transferred to obtain details of the account holders," a Koparkhairane police station official said.