Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Jan 7: In a shocking case of cyber fraud, a 52-year-old resident of a remote village in Valpoi, below the Western Ghats, was cheated of Rs 1.4 crore after falling prey to a cyber honey trap on a fake matrimonial website. Goa Police have arrested one person in connection with the case.

According to police, the victim had registered himself on a matrimonial portal, where he began chatting with a person posing as a woman in search of a groom. Superintendent of Police Rahul Gupta said the accused operated with common intention, using a fake female profile identifying herself as “Samsiyabegaum” to lure the complainant.

“The fake female account was created on a matrimonial site and contacted the victim on the same platform. The accused deceitfully induced the complainant into a fraudulent forex trading platform by projecting it as a genuine investment opportunity,” SP Gupta said.

Believing promises of high returns, the victim was coerced into transferring Rs 1.4 crore through multiple transactions into various bank accounts. Police said the accused cheated the complainant by impersonation and unlawful use of computer resources.

Following a technical investigation, police traced one of the accused, identified as Rushabh Ishwariprasad Hanvate (23), a resident of Nagpur, and arrested him. “It was revealed that the accused received Rs 9.9 lakh in his bank account at Layer 1, which was later routed to multiple accounts of his associates,” Gupta said.

Further analysis showed that the same bank account was linked to at least 19 other cyber fraud cases across different parts of the country. Police have also sent a request to block the fraudulent website involved in the scam.

The arrested accused was produced before the court and remanded to police custody. Further investigation is underway under the supervision of PI Deepak Pednekar, police added.