India, Jan. 22 -- A 65-year-old film and television actor was cheated of Rs.1.60 crore in an online forex trading scam after being lured by a woman he befriended on social media, who later threatened him with a fabricated money-laundering case when he tried to withdraw the funds.

According to the police, the actor, who lives in an apartment on Link Road in Andheri West, was contacted in November by a woman identifying herself as Deepti Malhotra. The two started chatting online and, over time, became friends. She claimed to be running a garment business while earning substantial profits through foreign exchange (forex) trading.

"To gain his trust, Malhotra shared screenshots purportedly showing high returns from her forex investments and...