Woman loses Rs. 4 lakh to ‘online friend from UK’ in Mumbai

The complainant, 34, lives in Goregaon and runs a beauty parlour in Kandivli. She regularly puts photos of her work on her social media account.

A city-based hair stylist recently lost around Rs. 4 lakh to a cyber fraudster, who posed as a United Kingdom (UK) resident and befriended her on social media. The fraudster told her he had sent gifts for her, following which she got a call from a woman posing as a customs officer and demanding payment for the courier. The Goregaon police registered a case of cheating against the unidentified accused last week.

A city-based hair stylist recently lost around Rs. 4 lakh to a cyber fraudster, who posed as a United Kingdom (UK) resident and befriended her on social media. (HT FILE)

The complainant, 34, lives in Goregaon and runs a beauty parlour in Kandivli. She regularly puts photos of her work on her social media account. On July 23, she received a message from a man named Mike. The two then exchanged phone numbers and began chatting.

During one of the conversations, the accused told the victim that he wishes to buy a flat in Mumbai and sought her help. He said that he had sent her money to buy the flat along with some expensive gifts for her. The next day, she received a call from a woman who claimed to be from the customs department at Delhi International airport.

The customs officer said that a UK national, Mike, had sent foreign currency and other expensive articles to India. The parcel would be released only if the woman paid a penalty of Rs. 60,000, the officer told the woman.The complainant agreed to pay the fee. The customs officer then demanded more money under the pretext of processing fees and other charges. Between July 25 and July 27, the woman paid a total of Rs. 4.18 lakh.

This is the second such case reported this month. Earlier, a 28-year-old woman from Kurla lost Rs. 7lakh after she was made to pay fees by a ‘custom officer’ for gifts from an online friend who claimed to be from the US.