A person allegedly posing as Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves duped a woman fan of Rs.65,000. The fraudster allegedly demanded Indian currency to visit India to visit the 69-year-old victim.
The woman’s daughter, who lodged a complaint at the Versova police station, said that the fraudster gained her mother’s trust, as she lives alone in her Versova residence, and manipulated her into believing she was communicating with Reeves. On Monday, the Versova Police registered an FIR against an unidentified person for allegedly impersonating Keanu Reeves and cheating the woman.
Victim Manipulated and Financial Loss
According to the FIR, the victim, D. Kamat, lives alone in Seven Bungalows, Andheri West. Her 41-year-old daughter, Sneha B., resides in London. Kamat is undergoing psychological treatment. She has an account in Canara Bank, where her daughter is listed as the nominee. Since Kamat has not been keeping well, her daughter also has access to her mother’s bank account.
A scammer contacted Kamat via social media, claiming to be Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves. He began chatting with her on Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp, telling her he planned to travel to Mumbai to meet her. Gaining her trust, he said he needed Indian currency when arrived in India and asked her to transfer money to his IDBI Bank account. Believing she was speaking with the real Keanu Reeves, Kamat transferred Rs.65,000 from her Canara Bank account to the provided IDBI account.
Complaint and Police Action
On June 30, at 1:57 p.m., Kamat received an email that her daughter read, which raised her suspicions. The money had been transferred to the account of a person named Nahar in a Dehradun-based bank. She immediately contacted her mother and discovered she had fallen prey to a scam. She then instructed her mother not to transfer money to anyone.
The scammer communicated with Kamat through the Instagram handle 'reeves_1390' and the Telegram ID 'keanu_reeves4576'.
Police Investigation Ongoing
On September 8, Sneha went to the Versova police station and filed a complaint. The police registered the case under Section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
