Mumbai: A 21-year-old woman from Trombay has been arrested in connection with an online cheating case involving a Mumbai businessman who had been cheated of Rs 8 crore last year. The Central Cyber Police arrested Nadiya Abdul Shaikh, a Cheeta Camp resident, after her name figured in the investigation. The police said that she was part of a gang of online fraudsters who masqueraded as officials of a bank in Finland.
The gang of fraudsters had lured the businessman on social media to invest in shares, in March and paril last year. They showed profits in his account and duped him. When the businessman tried to withdraw his profit, he was asked to deposit Rs 5.27 crore. At this point, he realised he had been scammed. The arrested woman has been accused of facilitating bank accounts and handling transactions linked to the fraud. Operating through a WhatsApp group named ‘Stock Market Navigation’. The fraudsters posed as representatives of Nordea Bank, luring victims with false promises of high returns on investment, said police officials.
The businessman, who deals in chemicals, had lodged a complaint stating that he had responded to a Facebook advertisement featuring a “professor”, Sanjay Sharma, who claimed to be a general manager at Nordea Bank in Finland. He was told to invest through a VIP trading app and were initially shown profits, leading them to invest more.
According to the probe, the businessman transferred Rs 8.05 crore between April 4 and May 4, 2024, into multiple bank accounts. When he tried to take away a part of his “profit”, he was told to invest another Rs 5.27 crore. He realised it was a scam, and approached the police.
A police source said that they arrested the woman on Feb 19. “She is just a small fry in the big scam…” said the source. The police have seized her phone which has chats of conversations about bank accounts and SIM cards used for illegal activities.
Cyber police officials said this is part of a nationwide scam, with multiple victims across India. The gang, they said, could be floating advertisements on social media, in WhatsApp groups, and fake investment platforms to lure investors. The police said that the scam is probably being operated outside India.
The police have urged citizens to exercise “utmost caution” before engaging in online investment, and to verify the authenticity of such schemes.