A 65-year-old businessman from Powai was allegedly duped of ₹52 lakh by a woman he met on Facebook, who lured him into investing in cryptocurrency under the pretext of a romantic friendship. It was later revealed to be a meticulously planned honeytrap executed by cyber fraudsters.
The complainant told police that he received a friend request in June from a woman named Suprita Sharma, who claimed in her profile that she worked in a senior position at IBM in Hong Kong. After he accepted the request, the woman initiated conversation via Messenger and later began speaking to him on the phone after obtaining his mobile number.
Gaining his trust with her sweet-talking, Suprita claimed she was soon going to join IBM’s crypto trading platform in Japan as a manager. A few days later, she told the complainant she had moved to Japan, and subsequently began convincing him to invest in Bitcoin, promising high returns.
Initially reluctant, the elderly man was eventually persuaded by her persistent and affectionate communication. Once he agreed, she sent him a link to a crypto platform, where he created an ID and password. Between then and July 17, he deposited ₹52 lakh into the account. On the portal, his earnings were shown as ₹1.03 crore in Indian currency.
Later, Suprita began urging him to invest even more. When he told her he had no more funds and requested to withdraw the amount, he was told he must first pay 30% of the profit amount as tax. This aroused his suspicion, and after discussing the matter with family members, he realised he had been conned.
Cyber Police Registers Case
Following the discovery, the victim contacted the national cyber helpline number 1930 and later approached the West Region Cyber Police Station. Based on his complaint, an FIR was filed against Suprita Sharma and other unknown accused under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act (66C, 66D) and BNS sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2), and 61(2).
Investigations are ongoing to trace the accused and uncover the broader network behind the fraud.