Mumbai doctor duped of ₹95 lakh in cyber extortion case
A 35-year-old orthopedic surgeon from Mumbai lost nearly ₹95 lakh after falling for a cyber extortion scam.
It began when he accepted a friend request from someone pretending to be an MBBS student.
Their chats soon turned personal, and after sharing private photos, the woman claimed hackers had accessed their conversations using Pegasus spyware.
She told him that the hacker was demanding 3.1 bitcoins (about ₹2.5 crore) as ransom.
Woman threatened to file sexual harassment complaints against him
The impersonator threatened to file sexual harassment complaints and report him to the Medical Council if he didn't pay up.
Between April and July 2025, the doctor sent over ₹94 lakh in 42 installments—some of it borrowed—before realizing it was a scam when she contacted his wife on August 12.
Mumbai police have registered a case under extortion and cheating laws, confirmed the woman used a fake identity, and are now investigating to track down those behind the scheme.