Palghar man loses Rs 15.8 lakh to fraudsters on gaming app

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A Palghar man allegedly lost Rs 15.8 lakh to cyber fraudsters on an online gaming application, the police said on Friday.

Based on a complaint, the police on Wednesday registered a case under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act, an official told PTI.

The Palghar man has alleged that the accused contacted him in December last year and lured him to play an online game assuring him of lucrative returns, he said.

The Palghar man played the game with Rs 15.8 lakh but did not get any returns and could not contact the accused. He soon realised he had been cheated and approached the police, the official told PTI.

In another case, a 47-year-old man from Navi Mumbai was allegedly duped of Rs 46 lakh by fraudsters posing as officials from the Mumbai cyber police, who threatened to register a case of money laundering and drugs against him, police said on Friday, reported PTI.

The police on Thursday registered a case under section 420 (cheating) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act against four persons, an official said, reported PTI.

As per the complaint, the accused allegedly posed as officials of the Mumbai cyber police and contacted the victim, a resident of Nerul, on WhatsApp, claiming that they had received a complaint of money laundering and drugs against him, he said, reported PTI.

The accused demanded money from the complainant to avoid a police case, and he transferred Rs 46 lakh to different bank accounts between April 10 and 15, the official said, reported PTI.

No arrests have been made so far, and a probe has been initiated, he said.

Meanwhile, a 40-year-old man from Maharashtra's Thane city lost nearly Rs 38 lakh in a share-trading scam, an official said on Friday, reported PTI.

In his complaint to the Shil-Daighar police, the man said he was associated with a share-trading platform between February and March.

The man, who works for an aviation company, said he invested some money and saw his profits rise to Rs 94 lakh. When he tried to withdraw the profits, he was told to deposit a certain sum with the company, reported PTI.

In all, he shelled out Rs 37.7 lakh, the official said. However, those communicating with the complainant stopped responding after receiving the money, reported PTI.

Realising that he had been duped, the man approached the police, the official said, adding that a case was registered on Thursday.

(With inputs from PTI)