A woman who once played a key role in assisting authorities in catching an associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim has now fallen prey to a cyber scam. The cyber fraudsters duped her of a whopping Rs 23 lakh by luring her with a fake investment advertisement featuring Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor on social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter).
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According to the FIR filed at the Cyber Police Station, the victim is a social activist residing in Bandra. She came across an article on investment that appeared to feature endorsements from Kareena Kapoor and singer Shreya Ghoshal. The article included a link which she clicked on, after which she received a call from a woman identifying herself as Shasha, claiming to represent an international investment firm named “Foxonet”.
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The caller persuaded the victim to register on the company’s website, claiming that Foxonet provided expert guidance on share market trading. Believing the claim, the woman created a trading account through the site. Over the next few days, individuals using names like Sagar, Maya, and Raghav contacted her through international phone numbers and offered tips on stock market trading.
In April, following Shasha’s instructions, the victim clicked on the “Deposit” option on the Foxonet website and entered her debit card details. Her first transaction involved a transfer of $232 (approximately Rs 20,000), which she used to purchase shares. The portal showed a profitable return on the first trade, which built her confidence.
Between 25th April and 6th May, the woman transferred a total of Rs 23.45 lakh to the firm for share purchases. However, she was only able to withdraw Rs 1.63 lakh from her account. When she attempted to withdraw the remaining amount, the transaction failed. Upon contacting the representatives again, they asked her to pay an additional Rs 10 lakh. This raised her suspicion, following which she approached the Cyber Police and lodged a complaint.
Based on her complaint, the Cyber Police of the Western Division have registered a case under sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2), 61(2) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act. Investigations are underway.