Chandigarh: ‘Friend’s son’ dupes Sector-10 resident of ₹16 lakh

The deception was only uncovered recently when he spoke to his friend and discovered that his son, Shiva, had not made any such request

A resident of Sector 10 lost over ₹16 lakh to a scammer posing as the son of his close friend over a messaging app.

The funds were sent in varying amounts to several bank accounts provided by the scammer. (iStock)

The victim, Harcharan Singh Sandhu, was contacted via WhatsApp in mid-September by an individual claiming to be Shiva, the son of Sandhu’s friend. After convincing Sandhu that he was in severe financial distress and urgently needed assistance, the fraudster insisted that Sandhu kept the request confidential from anyone, including his family.

Believing the plea to be genuine, Sandhu transferred money through multiple transactions, following the instructions of the impersonator. The funds were sent in varying amounts to several bank accounts provided by the scammer. The total financial loss amounted to is approximately ₹16,01,200, Sandhu said.

The deception was only uncovered recently when he spoke to his friend and discovered that his son, Shiva, had not made any such request. Realising that he had been talking to an impersonator, Sandhu attempted to reach out to him, but all communication channels went silent.

Suspecting foul play, Sandhu approached the cyber crime police station, Sector 17, to file a complaint. A case under Sections 319(2), 318, 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and 66(D) of the IT Act has been registered.