Retired Berhampur Man Duped of ₹66 Lakh in Fake Investment Scheme

Berhampur: A 78-year-old retired company employee from Ankuli was allegedly cheated of around ₹66 lakh after falling prey to a fake investment scheme run through an instant messaging app.

The victim filed a complaint at the Berhampur cyber police station on Friday evening. Cyber police station IIC Shankar Panda said a case has been registered and investigation is underway.

According to the complaint, the man received a call from an unknown number about five months ago. The caller, posing as an employee of an investment firm, persuaded him to join an app-based group where he was “trained” on investment processes and promised returns of ₹6.5 crore on an investment of ₹66 lakh.

Trusting the scheme, the retiree began investing from September 17, transferring money till November 20 from three bank accounts — his own, his wife’s, and their joint account. The fraudsters sent him digital “bonds” to show his supposed investment and returns.

The fraud surfaced when banks rejected the bonds as fake. The victim then found himself blocked from the messaging group, and all contacts had gone unreachable.

He alleged that the scammers may have used a fake app and lured him with motivational messages and inflated profit claims. He approached cyber police after realising he had been cheated.