A 65-year-old woman from Mumbai fell prey to a sophisticated cyber fraud scheme, losing a staggering ₹1.30 crore to scammers who posed as officials from reputable organizations. The victim, who had initially resided in Chandivali before moving to Byculla, shared her harrowing experience with the police, revealing that it all began in April 2023 when she met a stranger named Paul Rutherford on an international dating app.
Rutherford, claiming to be an American civil engineer working in the Philippines, spun a tale about a tragic accident at his construction site and appealed to the woman for financial assistance to avoid deportation. Believing his story, she sent him around ₹70 lakh in Bitcoin over the course of a few months, even borrowing money from her relatives. The situation took a darker turn in June when Rutherford informed her that he had sent a parcel containing 2 million US dollars to her address.
Shortly after, the woman received a call from someone claiming to be Priya Sharma from Delhi airport, stating that the parcel had been seized by the Customs department. Sharma instructed her to make payments for various charges and taxes to release the parcel, prompting the victim to transfer funds to multiple bank accounts between June 2023 and March 2024. The scammers, adopting various personas such as Bank of America executives, officials from the International Monetary Fund, and the Reserve Bank of India, continued to deceive the woman into making further deposits under the guise of exchanging foreign currency.
Despite transferring a total of ₹1,29,43,661 to the fraudsters, the woman eventually grew suspicious and realized she had fallen victim to a fraudulent scheme. She promptly reported the incident to the cyber police, who registered an FIR at the West Region Cyber police station. However, the investigation has yet to yield any significant leads to track down the perpetrators.
This unfortunate incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by cyber fraud and the importance of exercising caution when interacting with strangers online. It highlights the need for increased awareness and vigilance among individuals to protect themselves from falling prey to such elaborate scams. It is crucial to verify the authenticity of individuals and organizations before sharing any personal or financial information to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
