74-year-old Thane teacher loses Rs 42 lakh in share trading fraud

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A 74-year-old part-time teacher from Thane city has been swindled out of more than Rs 42 lakh in a case of cyber fraud, police said. The victim, employed at a convent school in Navi Mumbai, in December last year joined a WhatsApp investment group whose members promised lucrative returns on investments, they said.

"On December 14, 2023, he received a message offering assistance in share trading and promising substantial returns. Subsequently, he was coerced into making payments totalling Rs 42,15,000 (till February 6, 2024) to various accounts specified by three members of the group under the guise of investment opportunities," said Inspector Sandeep Dande of the Kapurbawdi Police Station.

However, the teacher did not get promised returns on his invested capital and filed a police complaint on realizing he has been duped.

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Based on the complaint, an FIR has been filed against three persons of the investment group and further probe was on, said the police officer.

Meanwhile, a garment unit owner has been arrested after a 73-year-old businessman from Mumbai fell prey to an online investment fraud and ended up losing Rs 3.61 crore, police said on Wednesday.

The Cyber Police have so far frozen an amount of Rs 2.20 crore and 330 bank accounts, an official said.

The alleged transactions took place between May 20 and October 7 last year after the businessman was contacted by three persons, including two women, online who lured him into investing in a scheme by promising hefty returns, the official said.

"They also created a WhatsApp group, made an online agreement with the businessman, and sent it to his email ID. The agreement mentioning the returns on the investments was shared in the group to gain the trust of the businessman," he said.

The victim invested Rs 3.61 crore. As he didn't get any returns on his investment, he approached the West Region Cyber Police Station in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and lodged a complaint.

The name of the garment unit owner, Ketab Ali Kabil Biswas, came to the fore during the investigation and he was arrested on charges of cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act on Monday.

"During the investigation, the cyber police froze Rs 2.20 crore which had been diverted into two bank accounts. Prima facie, as many as 330 bank accounts used by fraudsters have also been frozen," the official added. (With inputs from PTI)