Surat: A 71-year-old retired man from Surat allegedly lost Rs 1.10 crore after cyber fraudsters posing as investment experts lured him into making a series of bank transfers through a fake investment application. According to the FIR registered on Sept 27, the fraud took place between Oct 30 and Dec 12, 2025.The victim was contacted through WhatsApp after he clicked on an advertisement for investment on Facebook. The fraudsters subsequently directed him to use an Axis.apk application for carrying out investments and monitoring his transactions.The complainant was allegedly contacted from multiple mobile numbers. The fraudsters convinced him to transfer money into different bank accounts, claiming that the funds were required for investment and related transactions. The FIR lists transfers made to accounts in Bank of Maharashtra, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, IDFC First Bank, Punjab National Bank and IndusInd Bank as instructed by the cheaters. To develop trust, they permitted an initial withdrawal of Rs 5,000.The complaint details 17 transactions totalling Rs 1.10 crore between Nov 4 and Dec 12, 2025. Some of the larger transfers included Rs 20 lakh on Nov 18, Rs 7.60 lakh and Rs 3.70 lakh on Nov 24, and the biggest single transfer of Rs 45 lakh on Dec 4.After transferring the money, the victim realised that he had been deceived and filed a complaint. Based on that complaint, a formal FIR was filed by Surat cyber crime police on Sept 27.
