Claiming to have hacked fantasy cricket platform for winning combination, cybercriminals con Pune woman out of Rs 14 lakh

After she clicked on the link, she was added to a Telegram group. A contact on this group, who identified himself as a fantasy sports expert, offered to give names of 11 players who would make a winning combination for a fee of Rs 2,000.

Subsequently, the fraudster asked the woman to make a payment to replace the players in her fantasy team who did not play the actual match that day. She was then told that she had incurred losses with the team. Later, she was told that her team had subsequently won, and was asked to pay 10 per cent of her purported earnings. In the same manner, she was given suggestions to pick teams and was asked to make payments.

After 89 online money transfers totalling Rs 14.22 lakh, she exhausted her savings, but the fraudsters started to further pressure her to continue playing. When she tried to withdraw her earnings, she was asked to make more payments for various reasons. It was at this point that she got suspicious and approached the cybercrime police station in Pune city.

Following an initial inquiry, the Hadapsar police registered an FIR. Their investigation revealed that the mule accounts she made transferred money to are registered in Pune, Raebareli, and Allahabad.

“Over the last few months, multiple cyber frauds have been reported from across India in which users of fantasy sports platforms have been duped by cyber fraudsters claiming to be hacking the platforms to get winning combinations. The modus operandi is very similar to share trading frauds, in which cybercriminals prey on the vulnerabilities of unsuspecting victims and manipulate them into making multiple payments for profits. We urge citizens not to fall prey to such scams,” said an officer from the cybercrime police station.

The woman has been living in Pune for the last two years, according to the police.