A Pune engineer fell victim to an elaborate cyber con as he was manipulated into making over 300 transactions totalling Rs 39 lakh on a fraudulent platform for an online betting game where wagers were placed on how long a virtual aircraft would fly before crashing.
The 30-year-old mechanical engineer, who works at a private firm in the city, registered a First Information Report (FIR) in the case at Kothrud police station on Wednesday. The victim was made to believe that he was getting high payouts on the online betting game and was even given some small winnings to manipulate him to continue placing bets. Over a period of over two months, the victim made as many as 310 transactions, believing he was placing bets in the game.
Some time ago, the complainant received messages from both Indian and international numbers about the chances of winning big in an online betting game. After he showed interest, he was sent a link, on which he was asked to register and was given a login ID and password. After registering, he was asked to start placing bets. However, when it came to sending money for the bets, he was given various UPI addresses to make payments to. The complainant started placing bets in the range of Rs 1,000 to 15,000.
These bets are placed on a rising number represented by a virtual aircraft that can crash. The longer a player waits, the higher the potential reward, but if the plane crashes before the player cashes out, the bet is lost. These types of games are known to be addictive and to have manipulative algorithms.
After every few transactions, the complainant was paid small amounts as a portion of the payout. This made him continue placing bets in the game. At the end of two months and 310 transactions, the complainant had sent Rs 39.77 lakh to dozens of mule accounts, thinking he had placed bets in the game. He tried to withdraw his winnings multiple times, but he could not. It was then that he realised that he had been cheated and approached the cybercrime police station.
After a preliminary inquiry, the FIR was registered at the Kothrud police station.