Mumbai woman cheated of ₹4.32 lakh by Facebook friend

A 33-year-old assistant manager of a well-known company was cheated of Rs4.32 lakh by a man who befriended her on the social networking site

Think twice before accepting a friend request on Facebook from an unknown person.

The complainant kept getting calls from other people posing as RBI official and anti-terrorism squad officer(HT Pic for Representation)

Recently, a 33-year-old assistant manager of a well-known company was cheated of Rs4.32 lakh by a man who befriended her on the social networking site.

An officer from Kalachowkie police station requesting anonymity said, “The complainant accepted a friend request from UK national Stevan Have on September 28. They started chatting and shared their contact details.”

As the woman’s birthday was on October 3, Have told her that he was sending her gifts and 20,000 pounds.

The officer said, “The two started chatting on the phone messaging app. Three days later, the man told her was sending her gifts — iphone 7, Macbook, shoes and dresses. He also sent her photos of the gifts.”

The woman got a phone call on October 4. Someone named Priyanka, posing as a custom officer, asked her to pay for the ‘gifts’.

“The custom officer claimed that there was a lot of money in the box which has been seized by them. She would have to pay to get it back. The complainant paid Rs26,000 and Rs86,000 thinking that she was getting 20,000 pounds,” said an officer.

For the next 10 days, the complainant kept getting calls from other people posing as RBI official and anti-terrorism squad officer.

“They told her that if the money is not related to any terrorist activities, she would have to fill a form which costs Rs68,000. Another man named Sumeet, who claimed to be an RBI official, too, asked her to pay,” said an officer.

The woman paid a total of Rs4.32 lakh. When she got a mail, asking her to pay R 4.24 lakh more, she realized that she had been cheated. She then told her parents and lodged a compliant at Kalachowkie police station.

A case under section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 419 (punishment for cheating by personation) and 120 (B) (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code along with section 66 (D) was registered and a special police team has been formed to detect the case.