Pune: A 32-year-old farmer from Markal in Khed taluka was duped of Rs 19 lakh by fraudsters who offered him a bounty of Rs 55 lakh for an old Rs 20 coin .




Between Oct 4 and 15, the fraudsters took money from the farmer under the pretext of processing fees, taxes and other charges. The 32-year-old lodged a complaint with the Alandi police on Tuesday.




Senior inspector Bhima Narke said the complainant saw an advertisement on social media offering Rs 55 lakh for a specific old Rs 20 coin. Believing he had such a coin, the complainant contacted the person who posted the ad and shared photos of his coin. “The person then assured the farmer he would get Rs 55 lakh for the coin,” Narke said.




Initially, the farmer was told to pay “processing fees” of Rs 750. “The suspect shared an AI-generated certificate stating the complainant had successfully claimed the Rs 55 lakh bounty,” Narke said.




The suspect then told the complainant to transfer Rs 1 lakh as a deposit. “They told him to transfer other sums for various reasons and said it would all be returned with the bounty. In all, he transferred Rs 19 lakh from both his and his wife’s bank accounts,” Narke said.




When the demands for money didn’t stop, the farmer realised he’d been cheated. “The money was transferred to bank accounts in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. We have sought details of these transactions,” Narke said.