Retired banker duped of Rs 1.35 cr by cyber criminals; 12 persons booked

Mumbai, Dec 22 (PTI) A retired banker was duped by cyber fraudsters of Rs 1.35 crore after they promised her high returns on share investments, police said on Monday.

The 63-year-old woman was cheated between November 10 to December 19 after she saw an advertisement of a firm called 'Jainam Broking Limited' on YouTube, and her number was added to a Whatsapp group called '121 Community Hub Jainam', he said.

"Some of the admins mentioned in the group that Jainam company was the representative of India in Global Financial Elite Showdown (GFES). They promised investors higher returns and benefits in future. They also gave an offer that anybody who brings maximum votes for the company will get Rs 5000 to 10000 every week," he said.

"She was sent a sent a link on her mobile phone, which she clicked and was then added to another group. She was given account details for investment purposes. On November 19, the victim deposited Rs 80000 in the given bank account. The next day her investment details showed the amount as Rs 88000. Impressed, she went on to invest Rs 1.35 crore, leading to her balance being shown as Rs 3.5 crore," the official said.

The victim then decided to withdraw some money from the account, but the fraudsters told her if she invests Rs.1.5 crore, she will get 100 percent profit.

"Accordingly, the company officials pretended they are availing loan of Rs 1.5 crore on her account. After some time, the amount had ballooned to Rs 10 crore in her virtual account. She sent a request of withdrawal of Rs 70 lakh to the company, but they said that only after paying interest on the loan money of Rs 1.5 crore would she be eligible to withdraw money from her account," the official said.

Realising that she had been cheated, she approached East East Region Cyber Police Station on Saturday, following which a case was registered against 12 persons. PTI DC BNM