Retired bank manager cheated by online fraudsters of R 81 lakhs

Pune: A retired bank manager (73) of Wadgaon Sheri has lodged a complaint with the Pune Cyber police on Saturday saying that online fraudsters, who posed as a woman, cheated him of Rs 81 lakhs by promising him handsome returns on his investment in the trade of shares and digital gold scheme.

The cheating took place between Dec 2024 and March, this year.

Senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of Pune Cyber police told TOI, “The retired bank manager stays at home and remains glued to his smart phone”.

“In Dec 2024, he received a message on his messaging application and the message urged him to invest in the trade of online shares and also in the digital gold scheme”, Shinde said.

“The fraudsters who continuously posed as a woman urged him to download a mobile phone application to trade the shares online and to invest in digital gold. He followed the instructions of the woman and downloaded the application and he then filled in his banking credentials, his ID cards as proof, and other details in the application,” she said.

“He then started buying the shares and digital gold and made an initial investment of Rs 20,000 and within a few days, he received a profit of Rs 1700 and the amount was credited to his bank account”, police said.

“This was done to win his confidence in the scheme,” she said.

Shinde said, “The fraudsters then asked the complainant to invest in the high value shares and digital gold for more profit. The woman promised 35% profit within a few days”.

“The fraudsters then shared seven different bank accounts with the retired bank manager. The complainant then went on transferring money to these bank accounts. The application then showed a profit of over Rs 1.50 crores and the complainant in Jan, this year, decided to sell the shares and digital gold for profit but the suspects did not allow him to sell the shares and digital gold,” Shinde said.

“The retired manager then realised that he has been cheated,” she said.