53-year-old Mumbai man sells flat for Rs 1.3 cr, loses all to cyber fraud

A 53-year-old resident of central Mumbai who recently sold his flat for Rs 1.27 crore with the intention of investing in a new flat lost the money to cyber criminals, The Times of India reported.

The man told the police that a woman messaged him on Telegram about a part-time job on February 9. She said she would send him links to films and hotels, and in exchange, he would just have to give them ratings, like them, take a screenshot, and send a photo to her.

In the beginning, the man received Rs 7,000 for liking and rating a hotel review. However, he later lost Rs 1.27 crore, which he transferred over the course of two days to the bank accounts of the woman.

The police said that the fraudsters would initially pay small sums of money to persuade people and gain their trust. However, over time, they would make the victims invest a big amount and then disappear.

Also Read: Online Banking Frauds in Delhi : A huge rise post Covid-19 lockdown

When the man further expressed his interest in the job, the woman sent him a link and asked him to give her the information for his bank account. For him to access his e-wallet, she provided a login and password. The next step was for him to make a deposit of Rs 10,000 into an account.

The man received a link from the woman to a website that specialises in providing information on the hotel business. He sent the accused a screenshot of the rating for the website's content. Soon, he got Rs 17,372 in his account.

She sent him a link to rate a movie and requested that he deposit Rs 32,000, which he did. He was asked to check his e-wallet's earnings and profit this time, in which he found Rs 55,000. He then deposited Rs 50,000 into her account. However, she said that due to some technical issue, he would have to pay again. He sent Rs 55,000 again.

On May 17, he transferred Rs 48 lakh into the woman's bank accounts and completed all of her given tasks. His profit was listed as Rs 60 lakh in the wallet.

The woman informed him that he would need to pay an extra Rs 30 lakh in order to transfer Rs 60 lakh from his wallet to his account. The man transferred Rs 76 lakh to the accounts that the woman provided on May 18 through a number of transactions.

However, when he did not get money even after completing all reviews and payments, he asked the woman about it. To which, she demanded more money.

He then went to the police and filed an FIR. The police found money was transferred to eight bank accounts in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. Further investigations are underway.