Taloja: A 37-year-old environmental consultant from Taloja fell victim to a sophisticated online fraud after forming a casual social-media friendship with an unknown woman. Enticed by promises of high returns through forex trading, he ultimately lost Rs 56.27 lakh. The Cyber Police have registered a case against the woman and her associates and initiated a detailed probe.
The ordeal began in August when a woman calling herself Aarohi Mishra sent him a friend request on Facebook. After he accepted it, she gradually built rapport and introduced him to forex trading opportunities. She instructed him to download the KuCoin trading app, create an account, and start transferring money to several bank accounts she shared over WhatsApp.
In the initial phase, the consultant was shown fabricated profits on the platform. Small “earnings” were made to appear as though they had been credited to his bank account, strengthening his belief that the trading scheme was legitimate.
Later, he was added to a WhatsApp group where a man named Ramesh Sharma presented himself as a trading expert. Acting on his guidance, the consultant continued investing, despite being charged a steep 30% commission on each transaction. Following Aarohi’s directions, he transferred a total of ₹58.27 lakh to various accounts, assuming he was buying USDT cryptocurrency.
At one stage, the fraudulent website displayed an inflated account value of ₹1.17 crore. However, when he attempted to withdraw his supposed profits, he was told that his “credit score” was insufficient and that he needed to pay additional SEBI-related fees. Hoping to recover his money, he sent more payments, but neither his investment nor his profits were returned. The fraudsters continued demanding further transfers.
Once he realised he had been systematically cheated, he approached the Navi Mumbai Cyber Police and lodged a formal complaint. A case has been filed under the relevant sections of the IPC and the IT Act, and investigations are currently underway.
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