Mumbai: Woman loses Rs 21 lakh in cyber fraud, MBVV cyber cell recovers funds

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The Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) Cyber Cell has successfully recovered Rs 21 lakh after a woman fell victim to a cyber fraud incident. The woman, identified as Sanghvi, a resident of Bhayandar, lost the money after investing in a fake share trading application she encountered through a Facebook advertisement.

According to police reports, Sanghvi was drawn to an ad on Facebook promoting share trading and potential profits. After clicking on the link, she was added to a WhatsApp group where the scammers shared another link directing her to invest in a fraudulent trading application. Initially, Sanghvi invested a small amount and received profits, which encouraged her to invest a total of Rs 21,93,279.

However, when Sanghvi attempted to withdraw her funds, she found herself unable to do so and realized that she had been scammed. She immediately reported the incident to the Bhayandar police station and filed an FIR.

The MBVV Cyber Cell quickly traced the funds, discovering that the money had been transferred into multiple accounts by the scammers. The police issued letters to all the banks involved, freezing the accounts. With the authorization of a magistrate, the money was successfully transferred back into Sanghvi's account.

A police officer involved in the case warned, "People should not trust promotional ads on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp. Scammers often add victims to WhatsApp groups, share fake screenshots of profits to build trust, and then encourage people to invest."

The MBVV Cyber Cell urged the public to remain vigilant and avoid clicking on suspicious links or investing in unknown platforms. They cautioned that scammers are increasingly targeting individuals by luring them with promises of high returns in share markets, forex trading, cryptocurrency, and mutual funds.