A former Navy electrician, Harendra Singh, 53, became the latest victim of online fraud when he was duped of ₹57.63 lakh by cyber fraudsters who lured him with attractive offers of online trading.
Singh, who lives in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, filed a complaint with the Kharghar police station on November 16, 2023, after realizing that he had been cheated.
According to the police, Singh had received a message on his phone from an unknown number in September 2023, inviting him to join an online trading platform that claimed to provide high returns on investments.
Singh, who was interested in online trading, clicked on the link and registered himself on the website. He was then contacted by a woman who introduced herself as Anjali Sharma, a representative of the platform.
She explained to him the process of online trading and asked him to deposit some money in a bank account to start trading.
Singh followed her instructions and deposited ₹50,000 in the account. He was then given access to a dashboard on the website where he could see his trading activities and profits.
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He was also added to a WhatsApp group where he received tips and guidance from other traders. Singh was impressed by the results and decided to invest more money in the platform.
He was told by Anjali that he could earn more profits by upgrading his membership and trading in different commodities and currencies. She also assured him that his money was safe and he could withdraw it anytime he wanted.
Over the next two months, Singh transferred a total of ₹57.63 lakh in 42 transactions to various bank accounts provided by Anjali and her associates. He was also asked to pay various charges and fees for maintaining his account and processing his withdrawals.
However, whenever he tried to withdraw his money, he was either given excuses or asked to pay more money. He became suspicious and tried to contact Anjali and the other traders, but found that their numbers were switched off and their WhatsApp accounts were deleted.
He also realized that the website he had registered on was fake and had no contact details or customer support. He then approached the police and lodged a complaint.
The police have registered a case under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and section 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.
They are trying to trace the accused and recover the money. They have also appealed to the public to be careful of such online frauds and not to share their personal or financial details with strangers.