Navi Mumbai, 9th December 2024: A 60-year-old man from Navi Mumbai was defrauded of Rs 58 lakh by cyber criminals who deceived him into investing in shares, according to the police on Monday.

The victim, a design consultant, was initially contacted by the scammers in October with promises of high returns on share investments. They provided links to online platforms, which led him to deposit money for the alleged investments. However, when the man later sought clarification about his funds and the returns, the fraudsters failed to offer any convincing answers, which raised his suspicions.

The scammers posed as representatives of the share trading division of a prominent nationalised bank, further assuring the victim of the legitimacy of their offer. Based on the victim’s complaint, the Cyber Police registered a case on Friday under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

The victim claimed to have lost Rs 58 lakh between October 16 and November 28 after making several payments for the supposed investment. The fraudsters provided him with a fake investment statement showing a balance of Rs 5.12 crore, but when he attempted to withdraw his funds, they demanded an additional Rs 50.8 lakh to release the amount.

The demand for further payments alerted the victim to the scam, prompting him to report the matter to the Cyber Police. Authorities have launched an investigation to identify the culprits involved in the cyber fraud, highlighting the growing threat of such scams in the financial sector.