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Nerul woman pays ₹77K to ‘customs’ for gift from ‘London bizman’
An assistant commissioner from the Konkan division administration lost ₹77,000 after a man, posing as a London-based construction businessman, claimed to send her
An assistant commissioner from the Konkan division administration lost ₹77,000 after a man, posing as a London-based construction businessman, claimed to send her a gift and cheated her.
The 47-year-old development branch officer from Nerul had created an account on two matrimonial websites. In February, she matched with Fahim Reyansh based in London. He told her he works at a construction company at Huddersfield in London.
Reyansh kept talking to the woman for over a month and gained her trust. Around March 15, he told her he has sent her a gift. A few days later, she received a call from a man, who claimed to be a customs officer.
“The ‘customs officer’ asked her to pay ₹37,000 towards a 12-kg parcel. Later, he asked her to pay ₹1.8 lakh penalty, claiming they found £30,000 in the parcel. Reyansh sent the woman an audio message and requested her to pay whatever she can. She paid another ₹40,000,” said an officer from Nerul police.
When the callers demanded more money, she called the customs department to enquire about the penalty amount only to learn that she was cheated.
Soon after, she received a friend request from a woman named Dilipa Gupta, who too tried a similar trick. The woman officer approached the police and lodged a case of cheating against Reyansh and two others.
