Duped via social media, lured into fake trading scam: ‘Friendship’ with 4 women costs Mumbai bizman Rs 80 lakh in 2 weeks; FIR lodged

MUMBAI: A city businessman's friendship with four women in two weeks through a social media platform cost him Rs 80 lakh. The four women, who contacted him separately, befriended him before convincing him to invest in dollar trading for high returns. They told him that they would trade on his behalf, and gained his confidence by sharing fake profit screenshots.The businessman, in his 50s, sent money in 36 transactions to various accounts provided by the accused persons. He lodged an FIR with the south cyber crime police station, stating the crime occurred between May 16 and June 1. A team led by senior inspector Nandkumar Gopale is probing the case.The businessman told the police that on May 16, while he was surfing the internet, he saw the profile of one Nitya Agrawal on Facebook. She contacted him and claimed she was from an import-export company. Agrawal began chatting with him and shared her WhatsApp number too. She inquired about his business, and he gave her information about it. She told him that she would give him work in her company's joint venture. She then suggested he invest in dollar trading for high returns. When he said he knew nothing about it, Agrawal sent him a link to download an app. He was given a login ID and a password to access the app. He began investing and could see the status of his investment and profit in the app. She gave him various bank account numbers and asked him to send money, claiming they would do dollar trading for him. She also sent Rs 2 lakh to his account to gain his trust. On the same day, he saw the profile of one Dipti Kulkarni, a property dealer. She contacted him, shared her WhatsApp number, and befriended him. She also convinced him to invest in dollar trading, and sent him a link. He was then asked to download an app, and given account numbers to send money. She said she would do trading for him. He sent her money.On May 17, the businessman came across the profile of one Ruchika Bhatt, a property dealer, who began chatting with him and asked him to invest in dollar trading. She also shared her family photo. Similarly, on May 21, he saw the profile of one Aniya Roy, who contacted him and suggested he invest in dollar trading. He followed her instructions, but he asked for his money, the women told him to pay more. The businessman then asked his son to assess the veracity of the apps. After realising that he had been cheated, he lodged an FIR.