Chandigarh man duped of ₹36.76 lakh in cyber scam

According to police, the complainant, Balraj Singh, received a call from an unidentified individual who claimed that a consignment under his name had been seized in Thailand, allegedly containing drugs

A resident of Sector 36-C fell victim to a cyber fraud, losing ₹36.76 lakh to scammers posing as law enforcement officials. According to police, the complainant, Balraj Singh, received a call from an unidentified individual who claimed that a consignment under his name had been seized in Thailand, allegedly containing drugs. The scammer, impersonating an official, coerced Singh into transferring ₹36,76,135 under the pretext of clearing his name from the case.

The scammer, impersonating an official, coerced Singh into transferring ₹36,76,135 under the pretext of clearing his name from the case. (HT Photo)

Believing the threat to be real, the complainant transferred the amount in multiple transactions before realizing he had been duped. Upon discovering the fraud, he approached the Cyber Crime Police Station, following which an FIR was lodged under Sections 319(2) (punishment of cheating by personation), 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 338 (forgery of valuable security), 336(3) (forgery for purpose of cheating), 340(2) (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), and 61(2) (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).