Senior citizen loses Rs 64 lakh to cyber fraudsters in Navi Mumbai

A senior citizen in Navi Mumbai was allegedly swindled of Rs 64 lakh over four years by cyber fraudsters who posed as insurance regulators and grievance officials police said on Sunday reported PTIThe Navi Mumbai Cyber Police registered an FIR on April 20 under sections 3184 cheating and 3192 personation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS and provisions of the Information Technology Act an official saidAccording to the 62yearold complainant his ordeal began in January 2022 when he received a WhatsApp call from a man posing as an official from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority IRDA reported PTIThe caller promised to facilitate the recovery of matured funds from an insurance policy provided the victim first purchased new policies from various private insurers the official said reported PTIOver the next two years the victim received calls from another accused posing as the director of the Integrated Grievance Management System IGMS promising to recover the initial paymentsUnder the guise of various fabricated charges including Agent Code Removal Fees FDR Fees and State Level Tax the fraudsters induced the victim to transfer Rs 64 lakh in 32 separate transactions from both his and his brothers bank accounts the official said reported PTIThe scam escalated when the unidentified accused convinced the victim to open new bank accounts and courier the ATM cards to addresses in Indrapuram Ghaziabad he saidThe victim realised he had been duped after receiving a legal notice from the Yashwanthapur police station in Kerala stating that his accounts were being used for criminal activities he saidThe official said that the police have launched a probe and are currently tracking several mobile numbers and an email ID linked to the suspectsNavi Mumbai businessman booked for duping investors of Rs 284 lakh in forex trading fraudIn another case four persons from Navi Mumbai were allegedly duped of Rs 284 lakh by a businessman who lured them with the promise of high returns in forex trading police said on Sunday reported PTIBased on a complaint lodged by one of the victims a first information report was recently registered against Sachin Bapu Gunjal a local businessman under sections 3162 criminal breach of trust and 3184 cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita an official saidThe complainant a real estate agent allegedly invested in a scheme promoted by the accuseds firm Trading Hub Academy and Set Up Enterprises in Kamothe between 2022 and 2024 he said reported PTIAccording to the complaint Gunjal allegedly enticed investors by claiming he could generate 18 to 20 per cent profit through forex trading and promised monthly returns of 4 to 6 per cent He further assured investors that their principal amount would be returned after 12 months reported PTIThe accused showed the complainant records of other investors and claimed to have a total funding of Rs 30 crore to gain his trust the official saidThe victim initially invested Rs 1 lakh in January 2022 received regular returns until March 2024 and made additional investments But the payments subsequently stopped and when confronted the accused allegedly gave evasive answers moved his office and eventually blocked the victims phone number he said reported PTIA probe has revealed that four investors including the complainant were duped of Rs 2840 lakh the official said adding that no arrest has been made in the caseWith inputs from PTI