The man who resides in New Panvel area, got in touch with the woman between March and May 2024. Following interactions,the two continued chatting on WhatsApp during which the woman, who identified herself as Zia, lured the man to invest in a gold trading scheme, an official from Khandeshwar police station told PTI.
The woman guaranteed the victim of high returns and and got him to use a specific trading application. The victim subsequently invested Rs 73.72 lakh over a span of three months, the official said. However, the man became suspicious when no returns were credited.
The woman stopped responding and became out of reach when the man started asking about the invested money, the official said.
The man then approached the police with a complaint.
The police registered a case under sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act following an initial inquiry. The police are working to trace the accused and track digital footprints related to the fraudulent transactions, he added.
