Cyber fraudsters duped a 78-year-old Pune resident of Rs 1.02 crore by posing as employees of a ‘dating service’.
The victim lodged an FIR in this case at the Cyber police station in the city Friday.The police said the victim is a widower and was a senior officer at a private company before his retirement.
They said that fraudsters identifying themselves as Rajat Sinha and Neha Sharma contacted the complainant in May 2022 over the phone. The duo continued to communicate with the complainant over WhatsApp and said they would introduce him to women through their dating service.
The criminals then allegedly demanded money from the complainant for availing their services. They also informed him about some ‘refundable charges’.
The complainant transferred money online into a few bank accounts, details of which were provided to him by the fraudsters. The police said the complainant transferred Rs 1,02,12,500 into the accounts through multiple online transactions from May 2022 onwards. But he was never introduced to any woman through the dating service. Also, he did not get back the refund money.
An offence of cheating has been lodged against Rajat Sinha, Neha Sharma, and others including the holders of bank accounts into which the complainant transferred money.
Police inspector Sangita Mali is investigating the case.