Victims lose ₹20 lakh in three separate cyber fraud cases in Pune

A 26-year-old citizen was threatened by fraudsters posing on behalf of the National Crime Records bureau and told him about his alleged involvement in money laundering and extorted ₹2.97 lakh

The Chatushrungi police have lodged three cheating cases on June 10 where the victims lost nearly ₹20 lakh in online cyber fraud incidents.

An 80-year-old citizen received a call from an imposter posing as a representative of a prominent cooking gas utility supplier, who told him about the pending bill and asked him that he will update the records and allegedly duped him. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

In the first incident, a 35-five-year old resident of Baner lodged a complaint stating that he received a WhatsApp message from a share trading platform which offered exorbitant returns. The accused shared a link and after joining the group, he was lured into investing ₹14.15 lakh and offered good returns. However, despite investing the money, the victim did not get the investment return, so he approached police which filed a case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 419, 420, 34 and IT Act 66 D.

In the second incident, an 80-year-old citizen received a call from an imposter posing as a representative of a prominent cooking gas utility supplier, who told him about the pending bill and asked him that he will update the records. He sent him a WhatsApp message where the victim downloaded a form to fill in the personal details. Later the link clicked led to OTP generation and gave the phone access to the cheat who fraudulently siphoned off ₹ 2.80 lakh from his account. The crime took place between June 1 and July 10, 2024.

In the third case, a 26-year-old citizen was threatened by fraudsters posing on behalf of the National Crime Records bureau and told him about his alleged involvement in money laundering and extorted ₹2.97 lakh between July 7 and July 10. The police have lodged a case under BNS 204, 319 (2) and IT Act 66 D against the accused.