Mumbai: A Mumbai-based 80-year-old man has been defrauded out of almost 9 crore in a two-year-old scam online, which consisted of four women, whom police suspect may just be the same person with multiple identities. Its sophisticated scheme involved 734 online payments that started in April 2023, following the prey befriending a woman called Sharvi on Facebook.
The aged man has been quoted as saying that Sharvi told him that she was separated from her husband and was in need of some money to treat her children. She became able to get his money regularly after she earned his trust. Over three months, the victim had received messages on WhatsApp from three other women named Kavita, Dinaz, and Jasmine, who offered various excuses to gain some financial assistance.
The fraud proceeded after Dinaz contacted the victim, informing her that Sharvi had passed on and required some money to offset her hospital bill. She supposedly threatened to commit suicide unless he did, forcing him to give up even more money.
By January 2025, the victim had lost his savings amounting to 8.7 crores and was sent to scammers. Having run out of money, he even started to take loans from his son and daughter-in-law, when his son became suspicious and confronted him. When the man was told about the scam, he was reduced to a shocked state and had to be admitted to the hospital; later, the doctors diagnosed him with dementia.
The complaint of cybercrimes was filed by the official complaint on July 22, and the police are initiating their research to track the individuals. Police have advised people, especially senior citizens, to be mindful of dealing with strangers whom they have met online, noting that it is essential to verify identities and other critical elements in order to prevent scams, which are usually facilitated using money.
The case points to the increasingly dangerous threat of romance and friendship scams created on social media, where fraudsters can tap into emotional weaknesses to steal substantial amounts of money.
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