A 40-year-old woman from Chembur believed she had stumbled upon a life-changing romance when she struck up an online conversation with a man claiming to be billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. Promising marriage, a luxurious life in the US, and a future together, the impersonator slowly won her trust. What she didn’t realise was that the relationship was a carefully planned con that would eventually cost her nearly ₹16.34 lakh.Police said the fraudster first contacted the woman on social media platform X and soon convinced her to shift the conversation to another messaging app. Over days of chatting, he built an emotional bond, proposed marriage, and spoke of taking her to America.Soon after, the fake “Musk” introduced her to another person named James, who claimed he could help arrange her US visa. The woman, who works at an insurance company, was told she would need to pay processing charges to speed up the paperwork. Instead of official fees, James asked her to buy multiple Amazon gift cards and share their codes, assuring her this would “simplify” the visa process.
Elon Musk (Image source: Reuters)
Between October 2025 and January 2026, she ended up spending close to ₹16.34 lakh on these gift cards.The scam began to unravel on January 15, when James demanded an additional ₹2 lakh, this time for flight tickets. When the woman refused and expressed doubts, both men abruptly cut contact and told her she would no longer be travelling to the US.Alarmed, she informed her parents, who advised her to approach the cyber police helpline. Based on her complaint, the police registered a case under sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by impersonation) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.“We have added impersonation charges because the accused pretended to be Elon Musk and used that identity to cheat the woman, who made payments using her credit cards,” a police officer said.
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