Mumbai: Financial advisor falls victim to cyber fraud, loses Rs 9.35 lakh

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A 40-year-old financial advisor who used to give financial advice to people online allegedly become the victim of cyber fraud and lost Rs 9.35 lakh on the pretext of rating hotels, according to police.

According to police sources, the complainant lives in Dahisar and works as a financial advisor.

On June 13, he received a message from a woman saying that she was an HR from Neilsen Media, she lured him that he could earn Rs 150 if he clicked on a link and gave ratings to three hotels, said police.

As the victim mentioned his name in the message and clicked on the link, a Telegram app page appeared where he was asked to give his UPI ID. When he completed the task, Rs 150 was deposited in his account. He was then asked to give a review for more hotels and he earned Rs 900, an officer told Mid-day.

The next day, he was given the task to get almost double the amount he invested; for Rs 2000, got Rs 2800 within hours back to his account.

The next day he was given three more tasks and was asked to complete the task by investing Rs 5000 and 32000, and 45000 and was lured that he would get Rs 7000, 45000, and 98000. He completed these tasks and paid the abovementioned amount but did not receive a single penny, said police.

He was asked to invest Rs 2 lakh to get back the earlier invested amount and thus he went on to invest in the hope of getting back the money invested earlier and eventually lost Rs 9.37 lakh. Realizing the fraud, he approached the Dahisar police station and registered his complaint, the officer added.

We have registered the case under sections 419 and 420 of IPC and various sections of the IT Act, said another officer,

The investigation is underway, said the police.

Earlier, Mid-day reported that a multitude of cyber fraud incidents have hit the city, resulting in a significant number of daily cases filed in Mumbai. The city police have compiled a list of the top 15 prevalent frauds in Mumbai, and dedicated cyber teams are actively addressing these issues. However, the detection rate for these frauds remains below 10 per cent. The police recognise that enhanced infrastructure, the adoption of advanced technology, and the recruitment of well-trained officers are what could effectively combat these cybercrimes.