A 30-year-old was duped of ₹1.2 lakh on the pretext of a job offer in United Kingdom, police said on Thursday.
The complainant, Pujan, of Nanakpur village in Pinjore, told the police that he received a mail and later a call on June 11, 2019, about a job opportunity in UK. He was told he would have to incur a visa fee of 395 pounds (₹34, 863) and no other fee, other than this, would be charged for the process.
Police said as per the complainant, the fraudsters gave him details of a bank account in which he was told to deposit the amount. On June 13, 2019, the complainant deposited the fee through a cheque. but after two days he was again asked to deposit work fees amounting to 970 pounds (₹85, 296). “They told me that the work fee will be refunded to me once I reach UK. With their assurance, I deposited the amount on June 17,” the complainant told the police.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Raj Kumar, investigating official in the case said that as per the complainant the accused again asked for more money following which Pujan called the UK embassy’s helpline number where he was told that he had been scammed. The ASI said Pujan then sought a refund of his amount for which he was asked to deposit another 300 pounds.
“The complainant alleged that he then contacted the UK employer namely Rev Austin who told him the amount would be refunded on June 28 and a mail would be sent to him. But, he never called or texted again in this regard,” said the ASI. The complainant later received a mail from a person identifying himself as a representative of UK embassy from an ID in name of UK high commission. The ASI said the complainant kept received calls from the person who assured him of a refund but kept dilly-dallying the matter. When Pujan refused to pay more money, the man stopped calling.
{{/usCountry}}“The complainant alleged that he then contacted the UK employer namely Rev Austin who told him the amount would be refunded on June 28 and a mail would be sent to him. But, he never called or texted again in this regard,” said the ASI. The complainant later received a mail from a person identifying himself as a representative of UK embassy from an ID in name of UK high commission. The ASI said the complainant kept received calls from the person who assured him of a refund but kept dilly-dallying the matter. When Pujan refused to pay more money, the man stopped calling.
{{/usCountry}}The complainant has submitted the bank account details and emails which are being verified. We have initiated investigation in the matter,” the ASI said. A case was registered under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code at Pinjore police station.