New Delhi: Online fraud is becoming more prevalent than ever as more cases of fresh fraud are coming to light. People are losing thousands of dollars as a result of fraudulent incidents involving couriers, PhonePe cashback offers and part-time employment offers, among others. In a recent incident, it was found that a lady with MBA degree was duped of more than 37 lakhs for an expensive gift.
In a disturbing incident, a 32-year-old woman from Pune city was duped of Rs 37.88 lakh by a man he met online. The victim immediately informed the police about the fake encounter by registering a First Information Report (FIR) at the Talegaon Dabhade police station.
The FIR claimed that the accused created a believable online matrimonial profile pretending to be an employee of a well-known UK-based business. He successfully aroused the victim’s interest by making false claims about his desire to relocate to Mumbai soon, leading her to believe that there could be a chance of marriage in the future.
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The fraudster told the woman about an expensive gift he was planning to deliver through courier after she agreed to marry him. Soon after, he got a call from someone from Delhi claiming that the gift had arrived at the airport but would have to pay Rs 38,000 as customs duty.
After believing the fraudster, the woman transferred the specified amount to the bank account given by the caller. However, her nightmare continued when she reportedly got a second call from an airport official in Delhi.
This time he was told that the surprise price of his gift was Rs 3 crore. To claim this, he was forced to pay extra for various charges, failing which he was threatened with legal consequences.
The officials found that the victim, a well-educated man with an MBA, had interacted with the scammers on WhatsApp under fake names. In accordance with sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code as well as relevant provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act, the police have registered a case against the perpetrators and those running the bank accounts used in the fraudulent activity.