- By Chetna Shree
- Fri, 08 Aug 2025 02:09 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Mumbai: In a shocking incident, an 80-year-old man in Mumbai was duped of around Rs 9 crore by four women in the name of love and sympathy. This all started with a friend request on Facebook, which later moved to WhatsApp, and four women started texting the man requesting money. From April 2023 to January 2025, the 80-year-old paid Rs 8.7 crore to the four women in over 734 transactions. When all his savings were exhausted, he took money from his daughter-in-law and son to pay the women. Later, the son asked his father, who told him why he needed the money. Soon after realising he had been caught in an online fraud, he was admitted to the hospital.
How Was The 80-Year-Old Man Trapped In Scam?
The chain of incidents started in April 2023, when the 80-year-old man sent a friend request to a woman named Sharvi on Facebook. The two did not know each other, and the friend request was not accepted. Days later, the man received a friend request from Sharvi on Facebook, which he accepted.
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They started chatting on Facebook, and phone numbers were also exchanged. Their chats grew and moved to WhatsApp from Facebook. The man reportedly told the elderly man that she is separated from her husband and lives with her children. A few days later, she started asking for money from the man, saying that her children were unwell.
Another woman named Kavita also started texting the man for money on WhatsApp. She introduced herself as someone known to Sharvi and said she wants to be friends with him. Soon after, she started sending obscene messages and asked for money.
In December 2023, he received a message from a woman claiming to be Sharvi’s sister. She told the elderly man that Sharvi had died and asked him to foot the hospital bill. She showed him a screenshot of a WhatsApp chat between Sharvi and the man. When the man asked for his money back, Dinaz threatened him to commit suicide.
The demands did not stop here. The Mumbai man received another message from Jasmine, who claimed to be Dinaz’s friend and started asking for money. He sent her money as well.
How Did The Online Fraud Come To Light?
The elderly man reportedly paid Rs 8.7 crore to the four women between April 2023 to January 2025. When his savings were exhausted, he took Rs 2 lakh from his daughter-in-law. Later, he asked Rs 5 lakh from his son too. The son became suspicious and asked his father, to which he explained why he needed the money.
When the 80-year-old man realised that he was caught in an online fraud, he was admitted to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with dementia. A case was registered against the four women on July 22. Police have launched a probe and are suspecting the four women might be the same person who duped the man.