Mumbai Cyber Crime: 79-Year-Old Woman Duped Of ₹21 Lakh In Online Puzzle Game Fraud In Kandivali

Mumbai: A 79-year-old woman from Kandivali lost Rs 21 lakh in an online puzzle game scam after being falsely promised a reward of Rs 10 crore. The fraudsters, who remain unidentified, convinced her to pay a processing fee to claim the prize, only to later inform her that the game had been shut down and the reward would not be transferred, a police officer said.

According to the police, the victim, Kripa Rupanarayan Bhat, a resident of Charkop in Kandivali, came across an advertisement for a puzzle game in April this year. She accidentally clicked on the advertisement, which directed her to the game’s website, as reported by Hindustan Times.

After answering the puzzles, she was contacted by an unidentified person who claimed she had won Rs 10 crore for solving them correctly, the officer stated. According to the report, "The fraud sent her a link to sign up, after which she could claim the reward prize. She could not open the link and approached the fraud for help. He told her that she was required to pay a processing fee," the officer added.

Between April 28 and July 21, the woman transferred Rs 21 lakh to several bank accounts as instructed by the fraudster, who continuously assured her that the prize money would be credited to her bank account soon.

A few days later, the woman confided in a friend, who advised her to report the incident to the police. Based on her complaint registered on Saturday, a case has been filed against the unidentified accused under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.