3 min readPuneJun 18, 2026 12:01 PM IST
First published on: Jun 18, 2026 at 12:01 PM IST
A 90-year-old Pune man continued sending money to cyber fraudsters for months even after approaching the police, convinced by a message that his American friend had been arrested and a photograph purportedly showing him handcuffed inside a Delhi jail.
Investigations proved that the victim transferred Rs 22,40,200 into multiple bank accounts through 27 online transactions between January 10, 2025, and March 27, 2026.
According to the police, the sequence of events started in January last year when the victim received a WhatsApp message purportedly from his American friend on January 10, 2025, stating that he was nabbed at Pune airport in a money-laundering case. After the police failed to take appropriate steps in a complaint lodged in April last year, the elderly man, residing at Salunke Vihar with his son and daughter, has again lodged a second complaint at the Wanavdi police station on Tuesday.
As per the FIR, the message contained an image of his American friend’s passport.
A month later, the man again received a WhatsApp message from a fraudster who identified himself as “Komal” from the Customs Department in Mumbai, saying the American friend had transferred $2.5 million into his bank account.
Elderly man gets a message from ‘Customs officer’
The “Customs officer” asked the complainant to release the money so that his friend could be freed from money laundering charges, and subsequently, he transferred some money to different bank accounts.
However, the victim grew suspicious when the fraudsters started demanding more money and lodged a complaint at the cyber police station on April 12, 2025, the FIR stated.
Five months later, the victim again received a fraudulent message from a person posing as a Delhi jail officer who identified himself as Rajiv Sharma. The message said that the American friend was lodged in a Delhi jail and was suffering from medical problems, the police said.
The victim also received a photograph showing his friend handcuffed in a prison, alongside a uniformed police officer. The elderly man, who became convinced and believed that his friend really needed help, transferred money into different bank accounts over a period of several months, as per the instructions of the ‘jail official’.
Rs 4 lakh sought to send his friend back to US
He then received a message saying his American friend has been released from jail, and another Rs 4 lakh cash is required for making arrangements to send him back to America.
This time, the victim refused to give any money and filed a complaint of cheating with the cyber police station. The police recorded his statement on Tuesday, and the case was transferred to the Wanavdi police station for investigation.
The police said they are probing the phone numbers and bank accounts used by the cyber criminals, and also whether the image of the American friend was AI-generated.
Police Inspector Kailas Daberao, who is probing the case, said that no suspects were identified after the victim lodged his previous complaint last year. The unidentified cyber fraudsters have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 308(2), 204, 319(2), 318(4), 3(5), and Section 66 (d) of the Information Technology Act, he said.
According to Pune police, the sequence of events started in January last year when the victim received a WhatsApp message purportedly from his American friend on January 10, 2025, stating that he was nabbed at Pune airport in a money-laundering case. 
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