Senior citizen loses ₹21 lakh to gaming fraud

She answered the puzzles on the site, after which an unidentified person approached her, informing her that she won a prize of ₹10 crore for answering puzzles correctly, the police said

Mumbai: A 79-year-old woman from Kandivali was duped of ₹21 lakh in an online puzzle game fraud by unidentified individuals who lured her with a reward of ₹10 crore on winning. She was asked to pay a processing fee to claim the reward and after she paid the amount, the fraud told her the game was shut down and that the reward would not be transferred to her, said a police officer.

Senior citizen loses ₹21 lakh to gaming fraud

According to the police, the victim Kripa Rupanarayan Bhat, a resident of Charkop in Kandivali, came across an advertisement for a puzzle game in April this year and by mistake clicked the link in the advertisement, which led her to the game’s website. She answered the puzzles on the site, after which an unidentified person approached her, informing her that she won a prize of ₹10 crore for answering puzzles correctly, the officer said.

“The fraud sent her a link to sign up, after which she could claim the reward prize. She could not open the link and approached the fraud for help. He told her that she was required to pay a processing fee,” he added.

The police said that between April 28 and July 21, she transferred ₹21 lakh to multiple bank accounts, details of which were shared by the fraud. He kept assuring her that the money would be transferred to her bank account, the officer said. “On July 24, he sent her a message stating that the puzzle game was shut down, and therefore, she would not receive any amount,” he added.