A 49-year-old woman from Mazgaon, south Mumbai, was swindled out of Rs 8.4 lakh by fraudsters who lured her with a promise of Rs 6 lakh each for a rare Rs 100 note with the ‘786’ serial number and a 25-paise coin featuring a single-horn rhinoceros. The scam, targeting her passion for collecting old currency, has sparked a police investigation under cybercrime laws.

The woman, an avid collector, responded to a Facebook advertisement offering lucrative returns for rare notes and coins. She informed the advertiser about her prized possessions—a Rs 100 note with the ‘786’ serial number, considered auspicious by some, and a 25-paise coin with a rhinoceros, a discontinued denomination coveted by numismatists. The fraudsters, posing as buyers, promised Rs 12 lakh for the two items but demanded upfront payments for registration fees, GST, and other purportedly mandatory charges.

Trusting the claims, the woman transferred over Rs 8.4 lakh to multiple bank accounts provided by the scammers. When the promised payment never materialized, she realized she had been duped and filed a complaint with the Mumbai police on Monday. The police have registered a case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act, targeting unidentified perpetrators. Authorities are tracing the bank accounts and analyzing digital footprints to identify the fraudsters.

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This incident highlights the growing menace of online scams exploiting collectors through social media platforms. Police urge the public to verify offers and avoid sharing financial details without authentication.

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