Noida woman defrauded of ₹2.64 lakh by her social media friend

According to a complaint registered by her at the Sector 24 police station, the woman first got acquainted with the man on social media six months ago. At the time, she came to stay with a friend at her house in Sector 24

A woman from Sector 24 was allegedly defrauded of ₹2.64 lakh by a man, claiming to be a German national, police informed.

A case has been registered against the accused under sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000, said police. (Picture for representation)

According to a complaint registered by her at the Sector 24 police station, the woman first got acquainted with the man on social media six months ago. At the time, she came to stay with a friend at her house in Sector 24.

“They eventually exchanged numbers and started talking regularly. Recently, the accused, one Dr Samuel, made plans to visit her. He said he would fly down from Germany to Goa and invited her to meet him there. Following this, the man called her a couple of days ago and said he was detained by customs officials for carrying 50,000 pounds in cash, meant as a gift for her,” said Gyan Singh, station house officer (SHO), Sector 24 police station.

He added that the accused allegedly made her speak to a female officer who threatened that the man will be imprisoned if ₹2.64 lakh was not paid as customs fine.

The complainant, with help from her friend, transferred the amount to an account number provided to her. Following the transfer, the accused stopped taking her calls.

“The woman realised that she was defrauded and came to register a complaint. We have not been able to identify the accused or get his real name and nationality. We are going through the social media accounts, phone number and other details that we have,” Singh informed.

A case has been registered against the accused under sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Police officials caution people to be wary of accepting gifts or transferring money to strangers via social media platforms.

About 10 days ago, the cybercrime team of Gautam Budh Nagar Police arrested a 38-year-old Nigerian national for allegedly duping over 300 Indian women of crores of rupees on the pretext of marriage. He befriended them on social media platforms and matrimonial websites. The accused was apprehended from south Delhi’s Kishangarh area, where he was staying. A forged Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identity card, along with other documents were seized from his possession.