New Delhi: For nearly eight months, a 63-year-old businessman from Safdarjung Enclave was entangled in a web of deceit spun by scammers, losing Rs 33 lakh after heeding their false promise that they would buy his old coins.
The scam began when the businessman responded to a social media advertisement and contacted the phone number provided there. The scammers promised substantial payment for each coin but demanded a registration fee.
They continued to collect the fees until the businessman stopped paying. After this, another group of scammers, posing as police officers, called him up, threatening to confiscate his house and arrest him unless he paid an additional amount.
Two men have been apprehended from Nuh in Haryana and Rajasthan in the case.
Police said in June last year, the businessman saw the advertisement. The person he contacted on WhatsApp told him his company would buy two coins for Rs 11 lakh. “They kept on taking money from the businessman who ran a printing press, and when he stopped giving money, he was threatened,” a police source said. A case was registered in Jan 2025.
Deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Surender Choudhary formed a team under inspector Vikas Kumar Buldak. “During inquiry, a case was registered against a resident of Nuh,” police said. “The team went to Nuh and apprehended him.”
Further investigation led to the arrest of an 18-year-old from Rajasthan. They said they had collaborated to cheat people in the name of buying and selling old currency. They were cheating the businessman by posing as RBI officials. Another associate posed as a police officer.
In another case, a businessman in Paschim Vihar was duped of Rs 12 lakh by two men who posed as officials of Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC). The took money on the pretext of reallocating industrial land.
The suspects created fake websites to show him that his name had been selected and held meetings with him. Later, the complainant found out that he had been duped. A case was registered at Connaught Place police station.
Police sources said that the complainant had applied for industrial land reallocation in 2002. He said he was assigned an application number, but over time, he forgot about the matter. On Feb 18, he got a call on his mobile phone from a person, supposedly an officer in DSIIDC. “The caller informed him that his application had been selected and that he was the relationship manager for the property,” the complainant said. The scammer arranged for a meeting at Connaught Place.
During the meeting, the two presented him fake documents and the fake website. The complainant was induced into making payments as processing fees. One suspect has been caught.