Bhopal Man Duped of ₹9.55 Lakh After Being Promised SUV in Fake Lucky Draw

Bhopal: Despite continuous efforts by cyber police, incidents of online fraud show no signs of slowing down in Madhya Pradesh. Cybercriminals are constantly devising new tactics to target unsuspecting victims. In the latest case, fraudsters posing as representatives of the "Urmi Friendship Club" duped a resident of Bhopal's Bagsewania police station area out of ₹9,55,487 by promising him a Thar SUV in a lucky draw, before extracting the money under various fabricated pretexts. The victim was left shell-shocked upon realising he had been swindled.

According to Bagsewania police station in-charge Amit Soni, the 55-year-old complainant, Anant Massey, a resident of Rameshwaram Colony, Bagh Mughaliya, was first contacted on 25 April by individuals claiming to represent "Urmi Friendship and Dating Club" of Laxmi Nagar, New Delhi, via phone calls and WhatsApp messages. Two days later, on 27 April, the fraudsters informed him that he had been selected as a winner in the club's "Super Six" lucky draw programme and would receive a Thar car as a prize.

The scammers then extracted money under the guise of registration fees, membership charges, documentation costs, RTO fees, insurance, TCS and GST, among other charges. In several instalments, the victim ended up transferring a total of ₹6,83,295.

Duped Again Under Pretext of VIP Membership

Subsequently, on 13 May, two individuals identifying themselves as Raj Sharma and Himanshu Kumar contacted the victim, informing him that his name had been selected for a "VIP member" profile under the company's scheme. He was then made to pay a further ₹2,72,129 towards security charges, health insurance, medical check-ups and other so-called procedures.

When the complainant, having received neither the car nor the promised membership benefits, demanded a refund, the accused asked him to deposit an additional ₹28,707, claiming that the entire amount would be returned to his account within 24 to 28 hours. When he requested that this sum simply be deducted from his existing deposit instead, the accused refused.

Fraud Took Place Between 25 April and 5 June

The entire fraud unfolded between 25 April and 5 June 2026, with the accused siphoning off ₹9,55,487 through multiple transactions via Google Pay from the victim's Standard Chartered Bank account. In his complaint to police, the victim provided the names and mobile numbers of the accused, which include Rajesh Sharma, Alok Mishra, Raj Sharma, Himanshu Kumar, Rajesh Kumar and Pankaj Singh Bhadouria.