‘Groom’ from UK dupes Bhandup woman of ₹3.64 lakh

MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman was allegedly duped to the tune of ₹3

MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman was allegedly duped to the tune of ₹3.64 lakh by a fraud who posed as a prospective groom from the UK.

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According to the Bhandup police, the woman on January 18, 2023 was approached by a man on social media, who claimed to be part of a group ‘United Kingdom Marriage Bureau’ on a social media platform of which she was also a member.

The man, who identified himself as Rahul Khanna, told the complainant that he was an Indian working in the passport department in the UK. “They later started chatting on WhatsApp and that man told her that his mother had liked her a lot and they could get married soon. The man then told the complainant that he was sending a gift to his sister for her birthday and along with a gift for the complainant as well. The gift packet, he said, contained a latest iPhone, some US dollars and a few clothes,” a police officer said.

Later, the woman started getting calls from a ‘courier company’, asking her to pay Customs duty. When she paid the demanded amount, she was told that the parcel would reach her in a few hours. However, the courier firm again called her within an hour, claiming that the parcel was caught by the police and as it contained a lot of US dollars, she will have to bribe the police. The woman paid the amount.

“She was later asked for more money in the name of currency exchange charges. After paying the demanded amount, the woman again received a call claiming that the vehicles carrying the parcel had a breakdown. The woman paid for the vehicle repair charges as well,” the police officer added.

Two days later, she received a call asking her to pay tax on the new iPhone imported to the country.

“After this, Khanna called the complainant and told her that he had lost all his money to the fraud associates of the courier firm executive. He told her that the Indian authorities had decided to send the parcel back to the UK and that would be a problem for him as he had not informed his family about sending gifts to her. He then asked her to pay ₹2.70 lakh to the courier executive. As the woman was unwilling to pay the amount, she was asked to pay half the amount on February 15. She accordingly paid the amount in three transactions,” the police officer said.

The woman later realised that she was cheated and reported the fraud to the police. “We have registered an offence and written to mobile network companies and banks to get details to get the location of the accused,” the police added.