Daijiworld Media Network – Navi Mumbai
Navi Mumbai, Jun 6: A 53-year-old woman from Kharghar lost her house and her retired father’s savings to a cryptocurrency scam, police said on Friday. Dipali Patil was lured into investing in crypto tokens through fraudulent mobile apps by a Mumbra resident, Zuber Shamshad Khan, who has been arrested in connection with the case.
According to police, Khan contacted Patil via a Facebook ad in 2020 promising high profits from crypto investments. Patil sold her house and invested her father’s retirement savings between October 2020 and March 2025, losing about Rs 1.03 cr. When she sought a refund, Khan returned only Rs 3.51 lac and demanded Rs 26.7 lac more to release the remaining amount. Police recovered incriminating chats from Khan’s mobile phone.
An FIR was registered under various sections of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against Khan for identity theft, cheating by impersonation, and related offenses.
In a similar scam, a retired engineer from Nerul lost Rs 2.2 cr after being lured into share market investments through a fraudulent app operated by scammers posing as representatives of a reputed financial firm. The victim was convinced by a woman claiming to be a financial mentor, who showed a SEBI registration certificate. He was promised a profit of Rs 15.6 cr but was asked to pay a Rs 2.2 cr platform fee to withdraw the money.
The Navi Mumbai cyber police have registered a complaint and are investigating to trace the fraudsters involved.
Police caution the public to remain vigilant against such online investment frauds.