A 40-year-old woman from Chembur has lost over Rs 16 lakh after being targeted by a sophisticated romance scam on social media. The fraudster, who posed as billionaire Elon Musk, promised her marriage and a new life in the US before tricking her into paying massive sums for fake visa fees, according to a report by Hindustan Times.
The accused contacted the woman on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), posing as Musk. He later asked her to download another messaging app, where the two chatted for several days. During these conversations, the fraudster proposed marriage and assured her that he would take her with him to the US, HT reported citing police officials.
The visa trap and financial deception
As part of the scam, the fake ‘Musk’ asked the woman to contact a person named James, who was introduced as someone who would help with her visa process. The woman, who works at an insurance company, got in touch with James. He told her that she would need to pay a processing fee for the visa and asked her to buy several Amazon gift cards and share their codes with him, claiming this would make the visa process easier. Between October 2025 and January 2026, she spent nearly Rs 16.34 lakh on these Amazon gift cards, the report mentioned.
“On January 15 James asked her to pay around Rs 2 lakhs more to him for her tickets to the US. However, as she began doubting the duo and told them she can’t pay them anymore, they told her she can’t go to the US,” the news outlet reported quoting a police official.
Around the same time, the person posing as Musk also stopped communicating with her.
Police investigation and legal charges
After realising she had been cheated, the woman informed her parents, who immediately advised her to file a complaint through the cyber police helpline. Based on her complaint, the police registered a case under sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
“We have registered the offence and have added personation sections since the accused posed as Elon Musk and cheated the woman who then paid them using her credit cards,” a police officer added.
Fake Elon Musk scams have become a serious concern in India, with him now ranking among the top three celebrities most misused for deepfake frauds in the country. Scammers take advantage of his global image as a tech expert and his association with cryptocurrency to mislead people into falling for fake investment schemes, according to a report by McAfee.