A 62-year-old senior citizen from Navi Mumbai’s New Panvel area was defrauded of ₹73.72 lakh after falling prey to an online dating scam. The victim, who lives with his family, came in contact with a woman named Ziya on the dating app 'Bumble' in March 2024. The woman initiated chats and calls over WhatsApp, gradually developing emotional closeness and gaining his trust. Pretending to be romantically interested, she introduced him to an investment scheme in gold trading, assuring high returns. The man initially invested ₹25,000 and received ₹3,560 in return, which encouraged him to invest larger sums.
Ziya later convinced the victim to invest more, claiming they could jointly start a cosmetics manufacturing company using profits from the trade. Trusting her, the man deposited ₹58 lakh in what he believed was a legitimate trading platform. He was shown false returns amounting to ₹2 crore. However, when he tried to withdraw the profits, he was asked to first pay ₹44.4 lakh in taxes. Ziya even faked a screenshot showing she paid ₹8 lakh on his behalf, which led the victim to deposit an additional ₹14.2 lakh.
When the senior citizen attempted to withdraw ₹1 crore from his supposed profits, Ziya claimed that the trading website had changed its platform and terms. She told him he would now need to pay ₹22.2 lakh more to receive the full ₹2 crore return. It was at this point that the man realized he had been duped. He then approached the Khandeshwar police station and filed a complaint against the unknown woman and the fraudulent platform. Police have begun a detailed investigation into the case.