Several women befriend 80-year-old on social media, dupe him of Rs 8.7 crore

Mumbai: An 80-year-old man was duped of Rs 8.7 crore by several women who befriended him on social media and then sought money for various emergencies, a police official said on Friday.

He made a whopping 734 money transfers in a span of 21 months starting April 2023, the official said.

"He was first befriended on Facebook by a woman who identified herself as Sharvi. She and the victim began chatting, after which she sought money for her son's medical treatment. He obliged. Then a woman named Kavita contacted him on Whatsapp claiming Sharvi had shared the number. She too took money purportedly for her children's treatment," the official said.

"In December 2023, a woman named Dinaz befriended him by claiming she was Sharvi's sister and that Sharvi had passed away. Dinaz asked the victim to settle hospital bills connected to Sharvi. When he asked her to return some money, Dinaz threatened to commit suicide. A fourth woman, who claimed she was Jasmine and a friend of Dinaz, also took money from him," the official said.

The victim, after running out of money due these transfers between April 2023 and January this year, then borrowed Rs 2 lakh from his daughter-in-law, the police official said.

"His son came to know of the transfers after the victim asked him for Rs 5 lakh to pay one of the women. Last month he lodged a complaint on the national cyber helpline. On Wednesday we registered an FIR against unidentified person/s. Further probe into the case is underway," the official said.