Mumbai: Andheri Senior Citizen Duped of Rs 1.1 Crore in Year-Long Cyber Fraud

Mumbai, 11th March 2025: A 70-year-old resident of Andheri fell prey to a sophisticated cyber fraud that spanned over a year, resulting in a loss of ₹1.1 crore from his savings while attempting to secure a ₹10 crore loan at a low-interest rate. The cyber police registered an FIR on Monday following the senior citizen’s complaint, which detailed how he was deceived through 68 transactions.

The scam began on October 28, 2023, when the victim received a call from an individual named Anil Yadav, who introduced himself as an executive from a Delhi-based financial institution. Yadav offered him a ₹10 crore loan at a reduced interest rate, but with the condition that he first purchase a health insurance policy. Soon after, a woman named Tiwari contacted him and instructed him to transfer ₹5 lakh for the policy, which he complied with.

Despite making the payment, no updates were provided regarding his loan. Months later, in May 2024, he was approached by a man named Mayank Gupta, who claimed to be from the Bengaluru branch of the same institution. Gupta assured him that the loan could be obtained with a 10% commission instead of the 20% charged by the Delhi branch. However, he also stated that errors in the complainant’s loan application required rectification, necessitating further payments.

To make the fraud appear credible, the scammers sent him various ‘official documents’ via phone, including a return demand draft memo, bank final settlement charges, an NOC, and a payment confirmation report. To further convince him, they introduced him to a supposed ‘general manager’ of the financial institution, who assured him that the loan would be processed soon.

Over a year, the fraudsters manipulated the victim into making multiple payments under different pretexts, ultimately extracting ₹1.14 crore through 68 transactions. After months of waiting in vain for the loan, he finally realised he had been scammed and reported the incident to the police.

The cyber police have initiated an investigation, tracing the fraudsters through financial transactions and phone records. Authorities have also issued a public advisory, urging people to be wary of fraudulent loan offers and to verify financial transactions through official sources before making any payments.