MUMBAI: A 65-year-old businessman from Powai lost ₹52 lakh after an allegedly Japanese woman he befriended online convinced him to invest in Bitcoins and duped him in a cybercrime fraud for a month. The West Cyber police had initially received his complaint, and as the defrauded amount was less than ₹1 crore, they forwarded it to the Andheri police station, which registered a case against the woman and her accomplices on Saturday.
₹52 lakh.(HT File Photo)” title=” From the last week of June to July 17, the victim invested ₹52 lakh.(HT File Photo)” />According to the complaint, the businessman received a Facebook friend request from an unknown person in June. The profile had a woman’s photo and displayed her employment with IBM in Hong Kong. Believing it to be genuine, the complainant accepted her request, and the two began communicating through the messenger app.
Also Read | ₹21 lakh to gaming fraud”>Senior citizen loses ₹21 lakh to gaming fraud
During their conversation, the accused asked for his mobile number, and the two began to speak with each other on the phone. Her soft-spoken manner on calls gained the complainant’s trust, he said in the complaint. She told him she was currently working in an IBM office based in Hong Kong and that she would soon be joining the IBM Crypto trading platform in Japan as a manager. The complainant continued to talk with her for 10 more days about various subjects. She would tell him how investing in Bitcoin reaps huge profits and how it could benefit him. Though the complainant was initially reluctant, he was eventually convinced.
Also Read | ₹8.75 crore in a forex trading fraud”>Businessman duped of ₹8.75 crore in a forex trading fraud
Once the complainant expressed interest, she sent him a link and asked him to create an ID for his virtual account. He said he began investing money in Bitcoins through the bank accounts she provided. From the last week of June to July 17, he had invested ₹52 lakh. When he checked the application, it displayed ₹10.3 crore as his virtual bank account balance.
Noticing huge returns, the 65-year-old wanted to, but could not invest more money in Bitcoins. So, he decided to withdraw the balance accumulated in his account. When he inquired about the withdrawal process, he was asked to pay a 30% tax first. Finding this suspicious, he discussed it with his relatives and realised he had been defrauded.
Also Read | ₹50k”>Fraud impersonates bizman’s US-based brother, swindles ₹50k
The complainant first contacted the Cyber Helpline number 1930 and filed a complaint. The Andheri police on Saturday registered a case under sections 66 (d) (dishonestly receiving stolen computer resource or communication device) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and sections 318 (4) (cheating), 319 (2) (cheating by personation), 336 (2) and 336 (3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security documents), 340 (2) (using forged electronic document as genuine) and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
“We are trying to ascertain the identities of and trace the accused through the transactions made by the complainant,” said a police officer from Andheri police station.