Hyderabad: A homemaker’s Christmas gift, promised to contain an I-Phone, laptop, a gold necklace and 15,000 GB Pounds, from an imposter posing as an UK-based industrialist and philanthropist never came in, but she lost Rs 5.36 lakh.
This case of fraudsters duping a woman named K. Lalita, a resident of Yousufguda, was registered with Hyderabad Cyber Crime police on Monday. Lalita filed a complaint after her one-month wait for the Christmas gift turned fruitless. The suspect, posing as a British citizen, befriended her on Facebook, and siphoned off Rs 5.36 lakh for ‘customs clearance’.
K. Lalita said, “The fraudster posed as a rich man who owns a big construction company and hotels in five countries. He sent a courier package from a British company and I believed him to be bonafide. Initially, he asked me to deposit Rs 36,000 for customs clearance saying that the Christmas gift he had sent was stuck at Delhi customs as it contained UK Pounds. Later, I deposited Rs 95,000 more as demanded by him which I got from my brother. At this point I paid more as I thought I can at least recover the money. I not only borrowed from my brother and friends but also sold my jewellery. Even today, I received a call saying I have to pay Rs 1.5 lakh more to the Anti-Terrorism Fund for getting the money.”
Cyber crime sleuths found that the accounts to which money was transferred was in NE states. The accounts are in the names of women from Assam and Meghalaya, and it is suspected that they are money mules. The money from their accounts has been transferred to Delhi.
Though the accused gave UK mobile phone numbers it is suspected that they may be using voice call diversion technique and Voice Over Internet Protocol.
Police suspects that Nigerians are behind the crime.
Meanwhile, the cyber crime police is flooded with debit and credit card cheating complaints. In 2016, while around 70 such cases were booked, after demonetisation the cell is receiving at least 10 complaints a day.
