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Mumbai: A 32-year-old businessman, who failed to learn from an earlier mistake, has once again fallen victim to cyber fraud. He made 54 money transfers amounting to Rs 32 lakh to the fraudsters. Nearly two months later, he realised he had been duped and approached the North Cyber Division police station to lodge a complaint.
Fake Bank Officials Demand Payments
According to the FIR, the complainant, N Dewasi, is an imitation jewellery packing businessman from Malad West. He needed Rs10 lakh to expand his business. For this, on June 9, he downloaded an app called Khata.com, which turned out to be a trap set by cyber crooks.
After downloading the app, he received a call from a man named Nitin Kumar, who claimed he was calling from the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana office. The complainant shared his details and also paid Rs 1,550 as a fee. He was told that the next process would be handled through the State Bank of India (SBI).
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On June 10, one Ashwin Kumar, posing as an SBI official, demanded money for TDS, an NOC fee and GST. Tricked under these pretexts, the complainant transferred Rs 9.53 lakh from his Bank of Baroda account to multiple accounts given by the scammers.
Family Funds Also Misused in Scam
When the money ran out, the complainant asked his friend and brother for help. Together, they transferred another Rs 4.63 lakh in 11 instalments. Meanwhile, the phones of the fraudsters were switched off, by which time they had already extorted Rs 14 lakh from him.
When the complainant contacted one of the numbers, he was approached by a third scammer, Dayashankar Mishra, who promised a refund and loan sanction. Trusting him, the complainant transferred another Rs 18.73 lakh in 24 transactions.
In total, Dewasi transferred Rs 32.90 lakh between June and August 2025. After two months, when the fraudsters began avoiding him, he realised he had been cheated and filed a complaint with the North Cyber Division Police Station.
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FIR Registered Under BNS and IT Act
Based on his complaint, the police registered a case against the three unidentified individuals under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, on August 12.
