65-year-old woman duped of Rs 1.30 crore in cyber fraud scheme
PTC News Desk: A 65-year-old woman has fallen victim to an elaborate cyber fraud scheme, resulting in a staggering loss of Rs 1.30 crore. The scammers posed as officials from various reputable organisations, including the Customs Department, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and International Monetary Fund (IMF), to exploit her trust.
The victim, who lived in the Chandivali area of Powai until June 2024 before moving to Byculla, reported her ordeal began in April 2023. She connected with a man on an international dating app who introduced himself as Paul Rutherford. He claimed to be an American civil engineer working in the Philippines.
During their interactions, Rutherford spun a fabricated tale about a tragic accident at his construction site, asserting he needed financial assistance to prevent his deportation back to the United States. Moved by his plight, the woman transferred approximately Rs 70 lakh in Bitcoin to him from April to June 2023, borrowing money from relatives to do so. Rutherford promised her he would repay the amount swiftly.
The fraud escalated in June when Rutherford claimed to have sent a parcel containing 2 million US dollars to her. Shortly after, the woman received a call from someone identifying herself as Priya Sharma, who claimed to be calling from the Delhi airport. Sharma informed the victim that the parcel addressed to her had been intercepted by Customs, requiring her to pay various fees and taxes to secure its release.
Following Sharma’s instructions, the woman transferred money into different bank accounts as directed. Between June 2023 and March 2024, she complied with the scammers’ demands, believing it was the only way to access the promised funds.
As the scheme progressed, the woman received further calls from individuals posing as Bank of America executives, who informed her that the funds released by Customs had been sent to her in the form of an ATM card. This was followed by calls from supposed representatives named Ranjana from the IMF and Meera Bakshi from the RBI, who requested additional deposits into various accounts to facilitate the conversion of dollars into Indian currency, claiming the amount totalled Rs 17 crore.
Despite transferring a total of Rs 1,29,43,661 to the fraudsters, the woman continued to receive calls from individuals claiming to be new authorities. It was only after growing increasingly suspicious that she finally realised she had been scammed.
Feeling vulnerable and desperate, the victim approached the cyber police for help. Given her previous residence in Chandivali, an FIR was filed at the West Region Cyber police station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
A police officer involved in the investigation stated, “We have initiated an inquiry but have yet to uncover any leads to trace the fraudsters.” The police continue to work diligently to bring the perpetrators to justice while raising awareness about the dangers of online scams and the importance of vigilance in such situations.