Cyber fraudsters are luring citizens with lucrative offers, and even educated people are falling prey to their traps. In a recent incident, a 69-year-old woman from Andheri was cheated by cyber criminals who promised to double her investment within six hours. Ironically, the victim is a retired senior officer from the banking sector and currently works as a manager in a private insurance company.
According to police, the complainant’s three daughters are settled abroad. Despite being well aware of cyber frauds, she became a victim of the scam after attending an online lecture on foreign currency investment. On 17th August, she came across a Facebook page where speakers highlighted how investing in foreign currency could fetch quick profits. The page also displayed positive testimonials from supposed investors.
Soon after, the woman received a call from an unknown number. The caller repeated the same claims made in the lecture and convinced her that if she invested, her money would be returned five times over within six hours. Believing the claim, she transferred ₹21,000 via Google Pay.
However, no returns came after the promised time. The next morning, on 18th August, another person called her, claiming that the amount she had invested was too small, and hence no returns were generated. Trusting them again, the woman transferred another ₹25,000. By the end of the day, when no returns were received, she realised she had been cheated of a total of ₹44,000.
The victim then lodged a complaint at Vile Parle Police Station. A case has been registered under sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, along with section 418(4) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Police are investigating the case and have urged citizens to remain cautious against such fraudulent investment schemes circulating on social media.