Elderly woman allegedly duped of ₹65,000 in Mumbai

The 69-year-old woman was duped by a conman who posed as Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves.

An incident of cheating in Mumbai made the headlines recently. The case involves a 69-year-old elderly woman who was allegedly duped of ₹65,000 by a conman, who posed as Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves.

A 69-year-old woman in Mumbai was duped of ₹65,000.

The conman, who posed as Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves, convinced the lady that he needed money to book a flight ticket to India to meet her. The victim is a resident of Mumbai’s Versova and stays alone. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against an unknown person by the victim’s daughter, who resides in London, according to a report by a leading Indian portal. The accused was reportedly in touch with her through the Telegram app.

More about the case.

As per an FIR, the 69-year-old woman was allegedly manipulated by the conman that she was talking to, thinking he was actor Keanu Reeves, who gained her trust. The victim’s daughter, who lives in London, only learned about what had happened after she noticed a notification of an NEFT transaction of ₹65,000 made to a person in Dehradun on June 30, as per the report. She then flew to Mumbai to file the FIR. The daughter had access to her mother’s emails due to the latter’s deteriorating mental health condition. When the daughter asked her mother who she had sent the money to, she said she had sent it to a friend, as stated in the FIR. The FIR, as per the report, stated, “Subsequently, as she sought more details, her mother told her that she has been in touch with Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves and his close associate through social media and that he had sought the Indian currency to book flight tickets to visit her in India.”

Seeking more details from her mother, the daughter found more chats between her and the accused. The woman reportedly shared sensitive documents, including photos of her bank passbook, deposit slips, passport, and more, with the conman and another person posing as the Reeves’ associate. The victim also had the conman’s name saved on her phone as ‘Keanu Reeves.’ The complaint read, “Screenshots from the Telegram (app) reveal that the scammer persistently attempted to brainwash the victim, creating distrust toward her family members and encouraging her to isolate herself from them.”