Navi Mumbai man loses Rs 1.07 crore in share trading fraud; cops launch probe

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A 48-year-old man from Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai township has allegedly been duped of Rs 1.07 crore after being lured by fraudsters into share trading for good returns, police said on Monday, reported news agency PTI.

A case was registered in this connection on Sunday against 15 persons, including owners of an app and a website, and a probe was on into it, they said.

The fraudsters contacted the victim, resident of Kharghar, on various occasions between February 13 and May 5, assured the Navi Mumbai man lucrative returns by getting into share trading and allegedly made him pay money in different bank accounts, Navi Mumbai cyber police's senior inspector Gajanan Kadam said, reported PTI.

The Navi Mumbai man deposited Rs 1,07,09,000 in various bank accounts, but when he sought returns and refund of the money invested by him in shares, the fraudsters failed to respond, the official said, reported PTI.

After realising that he has been cheated, the man approached the cyber police with a complaint.

Based on the complaint, the police on Sunday registered the case under Indian Penal Code sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) and provisions of the Information Technology Act, the official said.

In another case, a 33-year-old man from Maharashtra's Thane district has been allegedly cheated of Rs 1.75 lakh by a fraudster who threatened action against him for various offences, police said on Sunday, reported PTI.

Based on a complaint by the man, a case was registered on Saturday against one person under relevant provisions, an official from Ambernath police station said.

On May 21, the man received a call from a person who informed him that a parcel which he had sent to Iran was seized by the Customs officials as it contained drugs, besides a laptop, pen drives, clothes and four Iranian passports.

The caller also informed the man that a payment of Rs 96,000 was already made for it and the parcel was returned to the courier company, the police said quoting the complaint, reported PTI.

When the man informed the caller that he had not sent any such parcel, the latter asked him to approach the Mumbai cyber police and lodge a complaint of misuse of his ID, reported PTI.

The caller also told the man that the police would arrest him if he gets late in approaching them.

Later, the caller arranged for a Skype video call and a person on the other side showed his ID and not his face and claimed to be from the narcotics department, the official said, reported PTI.

The alleged imposter informed the man that a number of complaints of money laundering had been registered against him in Gujarat, West Bengal and Mumbai and his name was also linked to a person arrested earlier for such offence, he said, reported PTI.

He also told the man that all his bank accounts had been blocked by authorities.

He then sought details of a bank account of the victim to get his accounts reactivated by the RBI and allegedly siphoned off Rs 1.75 lakh from the account, the official said, reported PTI.

The man later realised he was cheated and approached the Ambernath police.

(With inputs from PTI)