Salt Lake Man Loses Rs 66.6 Lakh in Online Investment Scam After Meeting Woman on Dating App (Disclaimer: This image was generated using AI and has been verified by the newsroom for accuracy and context.)
Kolkata: A 63-year-old man from Salt Lake lost Rs 66.6 lakh, his entire life savings, after falling prey to an elaborate online investment scam. The scam was allegedly orchestrated by a woman he met through a dating app earlier this year.
The man, whose identity has been withheld for privacy, lodged a complaint at the Bidhannagar Cybercrime Police Station on Thursday, revealing how he was lured step-by-step into the trap over a span of just a few weeks, as per a TOI report.
From a Chat to a Catastrophe
It all began on 14 April, when the victim matched with a woman on a popular dating platform. The two quickly took the conversation to WhatsApp, where she built trust and convinced him to try out a “promising” investment platform. Within a week, she had already planted the idea of high-return online investments.
Soon, he was added to a Telegram group where multiple fake users posed as successful investors. Encouraged by small early gains, the man initially invested Rs 20,000, a move that would snowball into financial ruin.
Sold His Apartment and Emptied His Accounts
As his confidence grew, so did the size of his investments. Police said the man went to great lengths, even selling his apartment, withdrawing funds from multiple accounts, and handing over every last rupee to the scam.
The woman, communicating consistently via messaging apps, continued to assure him of massive returns, urging him to “invest just a little more” each time. It wasn’t until all communication stopped and the Telegram group vanished that the harsh truth hit.
Police Sound Alarm Over Rising Scams
An officer from the Bidhannagar Commissionerate expressed concern over the growing number of such cases.
“Such online investment scams are rising. We regularly urge people to stay cautious,” the officer said, adding that these scams are designed to appear sophisticated and trustworthy at first glance.
The Bidhannagar cyber police are currently investigating the case and working to trace digital footprints of the scam network. Meanwhile, the victim faces the emotional and financial burden of losing not just his savings, but his home and stability.
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