A 51-year-old woman was duped of Rs 43.35 lakh by a person who befriended her on a social networking website.
According to police, the incident happened between March 9 and May 25 and the complainant works in the private sector.
The woman is a resident of Katraj and became friends with a man on a social networking site in January 2020. The man claimed to be a foreign national. After communicating for a few days the man promised to send her valuables through a parcel.
The man called her from a number with country code of the United Kingdom, according to details provided by the complainant.
The man had promised to send an expensive watch, gold chain, bracelet, and an iPhone along with foreign currency through the parcel. However, he told her that she would need to pay money to get it cleared from customs.
So between March 9 and May 25, the woman transferred a total of Rs 43,35,000 through 39 different transactions in multiple banks.
During the period, a man claiming to be a manager from the Reserve Bank of India and a woman claiming to be from customs had called and sent emails to the woman. They promised her that the money she was paying would be provided back to her, according to the complaint.
{{/usCountry}}During the period, a man claiming to be a manager from the Reserve Bank of India and a woman claiming to be from customs had called and sent emails to the woman. They promised her that the money she was paying would be provided back to her, according to the complaint.
{{/usCountry}}As the complainant went to her bank to get the money back, the bank told her that she had been defrauded.
The accused then stopped answering her calls and messages.
A case under Sections 419 (personation), 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code along with Section 66(c), 66(d) of Information Technology Act is registered at the cyber police station against unidentified persons.
Police inspector Santosh Barge of the cyber police station is investigating the case.