‘Elon Musk’ lures 40-yr-old with marriage proposal, dupes her of ₹17L

What began as a romance turned into an elaborate fraud where the woman was cheated to the tune of nearly 16.34 lakhs

MUMBAI: When a 40-year-old Chembur resident connected online with someone posing as the world’s richest businessman and entrepreneur, Elon Musk, and he offered to marry her and give her a life of comfort in the US, she thought her fortunes had turned. However, what began as a romance turned into an elaborate fraud where the woman was cheated to the tune of nearly 16.34 lakhs.

FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk walks on Capitol Hill on the day of a meeting with Senate Republican Leader-elect John Thune (R-SD), in Washington, U.S. December 5, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo (REUTERS)

According to the police, a fraud posing as Musk approached the woman on the prominent social media platform X, and asked her to download a messaging application where they chatted for several days. The accused even proposed to her and told her he would take her with him to the US.

As part of the fraud, ‘Musk’ asked the woman to get in touch with someone called James who would facilitate her visa. The woman, an employee at an insurance firm, reached out to James who then told her there would be a processing fee for the visa. He asked her to buy several Amazon Gift cards and send their code to him, claiming that would simplify the visa process. From October 2025 to January 2026 she spent nearly ₹16.34 lakh on these amazon cards.

A police officer said, “On January 15 James asked her to pay around ₹2 lakhs more to him for her tickets to the US. However, as she began doubting the duo and told them she can’t pay them anymore, they told her she can’t go to the US.” Simultaneously, ‘Musk’ too stopped chatting with her.

When the woman informed her parents, they immediately told her to file a complaint on the cyber police helpline. Following the complaint, an offence was registered under sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.

“We have registered the offence and have added personation sections since the accused posed as Elon Musk and cheated the woman who then paid them using her credit cards,” a police officer added.