A 35-year-old orthopaedic surgeon working at a leading hospital in Parel was cheated of ₹95 lakh in an elaborate cyber fraud. Early in 2025, a woman befriended him online, claiming to be an MBBS student from Chandigarh. She told the surgeon that the academic pressure had left her feeling lonely and depressed.
Scammer Befriends The Victim
According to the Hindustan Times, the police said the duo then connected on WhatsApp and their friendship took on an intimate nature involving the exchange of nude photos and sexually explicit conversations. The surgeon even paid for gifts demanded by the woman, the police added.
Scammer Claims To Travel To Victim's Hometown
In May, the woman claimed she was coming to meet the victim in Mumbai and even sent him photos of her business class flight tickets. However, when the doctor checked the passenger list online, he could not find her.
Scammer Demands Money
According to the police, on May 2, the woman told the surgeon that using the Pegasus spyware, someone from Thailand had hacked into their chats and was threatening to make the chats public if she did not pay him 3.1 bitcoins worth Rs 2.5 crores.
The Victim Grows Suspicious
According to the police, the scammer told the victim that she was afraid and was going to sell all her jewellery to pay the hacker. The surgeon suspected her initially, but then gave in.
Scammer Blackmails Victim
The police said the woman then asked him for money, threatening to write to the Medical Council, file a sexual harassment complaint against him. She even told him that she would send the council the sexually explicit pictures he had sent her.
Amount Of Money Paid By Victim
The surgeon made 42 transactions in which he paid her Rs 94.47 lakhs from April to July. The police added that he had even taken out loans from the bank to pay her. However, he later realised that the bank account provided by the girl was under a different name.
