Kanpur, Mar 18 (PTI) A 60-year-old retired school teacher in Kanpur was allegedly duped of Rs 1.57 crore in a sophisticated multi-layered cyber scam, police said on Wednesday.
The fraudsters impersonated prominent global personalities such as Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, American singer Josh Turner and an associate of Elon Musk, Vishwakarma said.
The matter came to light when the victim, Allyson Weems, 60, a resident of Chakeri, registered an FIR on Monday, Cyber Crime Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Anjali Vishwakarma told PTI.
She said, Weems was first contacted on Facebook in January last year by a person posing as Zuckerberg, and after gaining her trust over time, the accused lured her into investing in a proposed “international school project” in Kanpur, promising high returns and a senior position in the venture.
Subsequently, other fraudsters joined the conversation via WhatsApp and Facebook, impersonating American singer Josh Turner and an associate of Elon Musk to bolster the scheme’s credibility, he said.
Between January 25, 2025, and February 20, 2026, the victim transferred a sum of Rs 1.57 crore into multiple bank accounts under various pretexts, including investment, processing fees, taxes and job-related expenses, police said.
When she sought a refund, the accused allegedly claimed her investment had grown to Rs 2.23 crore and continued to extract money on the pretext of verification charges, stamp duty and other formalities.
In another layer of the fraud, a person posing as a recovery agent contacted her, claiming the funds had been dispatched via courier and demanded additional payments towards shipping, customs clearance and compliance charges.
She was later connected to a purported legal advisor who falsely claimed that her money had been invested in a trading portfolio and showed inflated returns to extract further payments, Vishwakarma said.
Upon realising the fraud, the victim approached the cybercrime police station and lodged an FIR.
Officials said Rs 19 lakh has been frozen after a complaint was filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
Kanpur Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal described the case as a “well-coordinated and multi-layered cyber fraud” involving multiple accused operating in tandem.
Efforts are underway to trace the network and recover the remaining amount, he added, urging citizens to remain cautious while interacting with unknown individuals online, especially those offering high returns or impersonating well-known personalities. PTI COR ABN SHS SHS
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