63-year-old woman loses ₹1.5 cr to cyber fraud

The woman came across an online advertisement on December 26 promoting lucrative stock market investments. After clicking on it, she was added to a WhatsApp group titled “VIP Share Trading Platform” with around 90 members. The group administrators regularly shared investment tips, while several members posted claims of earning substantial profits, prompting the woman to invest

Mumbai: A 63-year-old retired railway employee from Mulund has been duped of ₹1.49 crore by cyber fraudsters who allegedly lured her with promises of high returns through an online share trading scheme.

63-year-old woman loses ₹1.5 cr to cyber fraud

According to police, the woman came across an online advertisement on December 26 promoting lucrative stock market investments. After clicking on it, she was added to a WhatsApp group titled “VIP Share Trading Platform” with around 90 members. The group administrators regularly shared investment tips, while several members posted claims of earning substantial profits, prompting the woman to invest.

“After expressing interest, she was asked to complete KYC formalities through a fraudulent application and was later added to another WhatsApp group where specific investment instructions were provided. She initially invested a small amount and received a profit of ₹90,000 within minutes, which convinced her to invest further,” an officer from the East Region Cyber police station said.

Gaining her trust, the fraudsters persuaded her to invest larger sums, with the app displaying huge returns in a virtual account. By March 2, she had transferred ₹1.05 crore across 31 transactions to bank accounts provided by the accused, the officer said.

“When the app reflected a balance of ₹7 crore, she attempted to withdraw funds but could not. The fraudsters then demanded ₹88 lakh as charges and taxes, later offering a “discount” and asking her to pay ₹44 lakh. She complied but still could not access her funds,” he added.

In a further attempt to extract money, the accused sent forged letters purportedly from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), providing receipts for her investment of ₹1.49 crore, asking her to invest more. Realising the fraud, she approached the police.

Based on her complaint, the East Region Cyber police registered an FIR on Wednesday against the unidentified individuals for cheating, personation, forgery and criminal conspiracy under relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act, 2000.