Gurugram man duped of Rs19.3 lakh trying to help woman he met online

According to the police, the man started interacting with the woman on a social networking site in January this year. The woman told the man that she was an NRI from Poland and that she wanted to set up multiple IVF clinics in India.

A man was allegedly duped of ₹19.3 lakh in a case of cyber fraud, while trying to help a woman, he befriended on social media, transfer money. The victim, a resident of Sector 57, alleged that he fell into the trap of fraudsters, who posed as officials of the customs department.

A man was allegedly duped of ₹19.3 lakh in a case of cyber fraud, while trying to help a woman, he befriended on social media. (AP File Photo)

According to the police, the man started interacting with the woman on a social networking site in January this year. The woman told the man that she was an NRI from Poland and that she wanted to set up multiple IVF clinics in India.

“She said that she would be taking a flight from Poland to Delhi on February 15. Later, she said that she had boarded a different flight to Mumbai and that her flight to Delhi was expected to arrive at 4pm on February 20. She told me that she had reached the airport and needed to obtain a certificate from the customs department as she was carrying 2,00,000 euros, which was higher than the prescribed limit for foreign currency,” the victim stated in the FIR.

The police said he got calls from the woman and a person claiming to be a customs official, asking him for his bank account details to initiate the transfer of funds. He was told that the rules of the Central bank do not permit the handover of foreign currency to her and that her money would be transferred to a local account.

A police official privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said that in a week, the suspect asked the victim to transfer money in several transactions for the transfer process. “He was told that a code would be generated and for that, he would have to deposit several lakhs, which would be refunded later,” the official said, adding that the suspect was yet to be arrested.

The victim stated that he paid ₹19.3 lakh in total, before realising he had been conned. The complaint was filed in March and the case was registered on Saturday against the suspected person/s under sections 66 D of ITAct and sections 419 and 420 of the IPC at Cyber Crime police station.