E-Paper
Posing as relative, scammer dupes Panchkula woman of ₹2Lvia whatsapp
The fraud was committed on April 10 when the Panchkula woman received a video call, in which the caller, not showing his face, claimed to be her relative
A 60-year-old woman, Jyoti Wangu from Sector 10, has fallen victim to a cyber fraud, losing ₹2.2 lakh after being contacted on WhatsApp by a scammer impersonating her relative, Chand Ji.
The fraud was committed on April 10 when Wangu received a video call. The caller, claiming to be Chand Ji but not showing his face, told her he was coming to meet her and would send money to her account. He obtained her bank account details via WhatsApp. The fraudster then falsely claimed to have sent ₹5.95 lakh, sending a fake transaction message. Subsequently, the accused induced Wangu to send ₹80,000 and ₹1.40 lakh to two different accounts. Suspicion arose when further demands for money were made, leading Wangu to file a police complaint. It was later discovered that the initial ₹5.95 lakh was never actually credited to her account. The cyber police have launched an investigation into the fraudulent scheme. An FIR has been registered at the cybercrime police station under sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property or the making, altering, or destruction of a valuable security) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
