Navi Mumbai man cheated of Rs 58 lakh by cyber fraudsters

A 60-year-old man from Navi Mumbai was allegedly cheated of Rs 58 lakh by cyber fraudsters who lured him to invest in shares, police said on Monday.

Based on a complaint, the cyber police on Friday registered a case against five persons under sections 336 (3) (forgery), 318(4) (cheating by personation) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Information Technology (IT) Act, an official said.

The complainant, a design consultant, has alleged that the accused approached him in October, offering lucrative returns in share investments, he said.

The accused sent the man online links and instructed him to use these to deposit money for investments. However, when he later inquired about his money and the returns, the accused did not give a proper response, the official said.

He said the fraudsters had also claimed they were affiliated with the share trading wing of a nationalised bank.

The complainant lost Rs 58 lakh between October 16 and November 28, the official said.

According to the complainant, his investment statement showed that he had Rs 5.12 crore in his account, but he couldn’t withdraw the sum, and the accused allegedly asked him to pay Rs 50.8 lakh to access the funds.

As the accused continued to demand the money from him, the complainant realised he had been cheated and approached the Cyber Police, the official said.