Noida woman loses ₹4 lakh in parcel delivery fraud

A woman allegedly lost ₹4 lakh after a fraudster, claiming to be a UK resident, whom she met on social media made her transfer the amount into two bank accounts for clearing a gift “seized” by the customs department

A woman allegedly lost ₹4 lakh after a fraudster, claiming to be a UK resident, whom she met on social media made her transfer the amount into two bank accounts for clearing a gift “seized” by the customs department.

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Complainant Akansha Soni is a resident of Noida Sector 15. In her complaint, Soni said she connected with a person who identified himself as Raymond Pedro on Instagram in June.

“He said he is a resident of the United Kingdom. We chatted for some time. Later, he told me that he was sending a valuable gift to me. He also said that he was sending some foreign currency,” she said.

After a few days, the woman claimed she got a call from a person who identified herself as an officer from India’s customs department and said they needed ₹4 lakh to clear the foreign shipment.

According to police, the complainant transferred the money into two bank accounts, but she did not receive the parcel.

The alleged customs officer demanded more money and that’s when Soni suspected fraud and filed a complaint with the Noida cyber cell on August 13. The cyber cell conducted a preliminary investigation and then directed the Noida Sector 20 police to register a case.

Munish Chauhan, SHO of Sector 20 police station, said a case has been registered against the Instagram profile owner under Indian Penal Code Section 420 (cheating) and under Section 66-D of the IT Act on August 14. “The cyber cell and Noida police are investigating the matter. We are also tracing call details and the money trail,” he said.