E-Paper
Ludhiana: Facebook friend dupes woman of ₹5.1 lakh on pretext of sending her gifts
A facebook friend of city-based 36-year-old woman duped her of ₹5
A facebook friend of city-based 36-year-old woman duped her of ₹5.10 lakh on the pretext of sending her gifts from England.
Complainant Priya Chopra, 36, of Madhuban Enclave of Barewal road, said she had come in contact with the accused Richel Richar of Pune, Maharashtra, through a social networking site in 2020. The accused claimed that he settled in England and befriended her. Meanwhile, in September 2020, the accused called her and stated that he is sending some expensive gifts for her from England, she said.
“On September 24, 2020, he called me and said the gifts are stuck at the customs department in Delhi and I can receive it after paying custom duty. He claimed that he would repay all the money. Meanwhile, I received a call from a man who introduced himself as a custom department officer and asked me to pay ₹5.10 lakh to get the gifts released else the department would take an action against Richard and me,” Chopra said.
The woman said she was scared and agreed to make the payment, adding that the caller shared details of the bank account and she made the transactions, after which Richard stopped answering her calls and also blocked her on all the social sites. She filed a complaint to the police on October 13, 2020.
Assistant sub-inspector Amritpal Sharma, the investigating officer, said the cyber crime traced the bank account and the mobile number used by the accused. “On the basis of that information, an FIR was lodged against Richard and his unidentified accomplice under Sections 420 (cheating) and 120 B ( criminal conspiracy ) of Indian Penal Code at Saraba Nagar police station,” he said.
