E-Paper
Chandigarh: Online quest for female friend costs 78-year-old ex-serviceman ₹21 lakh
Looking for a female friend, the septuagenarian instead ended up losing ₹21 lakh, for it was ruthless cyber criminals and not a prospective companion on the other side of the screen
Hoping to find a youthful female friend in his sunset years, a 78-year-old ex-serviceman from Chandigarh turned to dating apps popular among the younger lot.
But the septuagenarian instead ended up losing life savings of ₹21 lakh, for it was ruthless cyber criminals and not a prospective companion on the other side of the screen.
The victim told the cyber police that he had signed up on various dating apps on his mobile phone to look for a friend.
On August 20, 2022, he received a phone call from a woman named Tannu, who shared she can help him find a friend. She asked him the age group he was interested in and he responded that he was looking for someone aged 25 to 30.
The woman sent him a Google Pay number, asking him to pay ₹2,000 to sign him up and after he made the payment, she shared pictures of some women.
After he picked the woman he liked, Tannu provided him the phone number of one Kriti, who, on being contacted, asked him to transfer ₹10,200 for preparing a “gold card”, which would enable him to communicate with the selected woman.
Kriti assured him that she would refund ₹10,000 after deducting ₹200 as fee for the card.
He transferred the money to the given bank account number, following which Kriti gave him the phone number of one Rohini Aggarwal.
He started communicating with both Rohini and Kriti through WhatsApp. A few days later, Kriti asked him to deposit another ₹1.18 lakh, which he did. He continued to follow the women’s instructions and ended up transferring ₹16.5 lakh in three bank accounts, but never got to interact with the woman he picked.
Later, one Reshmi Deshi contacted him, informing that Tannu had died, but had told her about the deal.
Reshmi said Tannu had asked her to return his money, but to process the refund, he would have to deposit ₹4.5 lakh more. The complainant adhered to the instructions, only to realise he had fallen prey to a fraud.
On his complaint, cyber police have registered a case under Sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, and launched a probe to trace and nab the fraudsters.
