Mumbai man, 80, befriends ‘four women' on Facebook, loses ₹9 crore to online scam

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

An 80-year-old Mumbai man was scammed of nearly ₹9 crore over two years allegedly by four women, who are possibly the same person, who duped him through 734 online transactions. The fraud began in April 2023 when the victim connected with a woman named Sharvi on Facebook.(Pic for representational purpose only)
NDTV reported that the fraud began in April 2023 when the victim connected with a woman named Sharvi on Facebook.
The woman claimed that she had separated from her husband and sought money for her children's medical expenses.
Over time, other women, named Kavita, Dinaz, and Jasmine, contacted the man via WhatsApp, each asking for financial assistance under different pretexts.
The fraud intensified when Dinaz told the victim that Sharvi had died and demanded money to cover her hospital expenses. She allegedly threatened to take her own life if he refused.
By January 2025, the man had exhausted his savings, paying her a total of ₹8.7 crore. He then borrowed money from his son and daughter-in-law, continuing the payments until his son grew suspicious and stepped in.
The revelation that he had fallen prey to a cyber scam left the man severely shocked; he was hospitalised and later diagnosed with dementia. A cybercrime case was filed on July 22, and investigations are underway, NDTV reported.
Fake call centre busted in Delhi
In an unrelated incident, the Lucknow police has arrested two men from Delhi for allegedly operating a bogus call centre that defrauded people by posing as bank representatives and luring them into credit card renewal scams.
The gang is suspected to have committed cyber frauds amounting to over ₹50 lakh in the past year, they said.
Addressing a press conference, deputy commissioner of police (South) Nipun Aggarwal said a local resident, Jitendra Kumar, had filed a complaint in June at the Sarojini Nagar police station. He reported receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be a bank official who told him that his credit card was about to expire and needed renewal.
The fraudsters then accessed his card and siphoned off ₹1.6 lakh, he said.
"Acting swiftly, our cybercrime team and Sarojini Nagar police traced the suspects to the Jaitpur area in South Delhi and arrested two individuals – Vikas Kumar (28) and Rahul Lakhera (31)," Aggarwal said, speaking alongside additional DCP Rallapalli Vasanth Kumar.
The police said they recovered 25 mobile phones, nearly two dozen SIM cards, a laptop, and other digital tools from the accused. Investigations revealed that the duo operated out of Vikas Kumar's house, which also served as the fake call centre.
Several women were employed there, making fraudulent calls to unsuspecting victims. They were paid monthly salaries ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹15,000.
DCP Agarwal said the gang used personal data provided by an accomplice referred to only as "Dubey ji" from Bihar, who supplied credit card information of potential victims at the rate of ₹10 per customer.
(With inputs from PTI)