<p>A college student and her mother lost Rs 1.1 lakh to an online fraud orchestrated by a Facebook “friend”. </p>.<p>Kengeri resident Bhavya (name changed), 21, said in a police complaint that one Myati Dayi sent her a Facebook friend request in September. She accepted it, impressed by his profile which claimed he was a manager at a reputable company in Ireland. Dayi initially sent her messages on Facebook but they later exchanged numbers. </p>.<p>When her mother asked why she was chatting with a stranger, Bhavya said he was a foreigner and he was helping improve her English. Dayi told Bhavya that she was pretty and proposed marriage. Bhavya told her mother about it. </p>.<p>Her mother thought it was a good match as her daughter would settle abroad. A week ago, Dayi told Bhavya he was sending them gifts, including a necklace, rings and some UK currency. He sent them photographs of the items. Two days later, Bhavya got a call from a woman who introduced herself as an employee of a courier service firm and asked her to pay Rs 30,000 as courier charges for an international package. </p>.<p>Not suspecting anything amiss, Bhavya and her mother borrowed the money and made the payment. But they were asked to pay another Rs 80,000 as custom charges.</p>.<p>Dayi asked Bhavya to pay the money and take the gifts. He also promised to return the money later. Bhavya and her mother took a loan by using gold jewellery as collateral. But the gifts never came. </p>.<p>Bhavya then decided to file a complaint. West CEN police have registered a case and are investigating. </p>
<p>A college student and her mother lost Rs 1.1 lakh to an online fraud orchestrated by a Facebook “friend”. </p>.<p>Kengeri resident Bhavya (name changed), 21, said in a police complaint that one Myati Dayi sent her a Facebook friend request in September. She accepted it, impressed by his profile which claimed he was a manager at a reputable company in Ireland. Dayi initially sent her messages on Facebook but they later exchanged numbers. </p>.<p>When her mother asked why she was chatting with a stranger, Bhavya said he was a foreigner and he was helping improve her English. Dayi told Bhavya that she was pretty and proposed marriage. Bhavya told her mother about it. </p>.<p>Her mother thought it was a good match as her daughter would settle abroad. A week ago, Dayi told Bhavya he was sending them gifts, including a necklace, rings and some UK currency. He sent them photographs of the items. Two days later, Bhavya got a call from a woman who introduced herself as an employee of a courier service firm and asked her to pay Rs 30,000 as courier charges for an international package. </p>.<p>Not suspecting anything amiss, Bhavya and her mother borrowed the money and made the payment. But they were asked to pay another Rs 80,000 as custom charges.</p>.<p>Dayi asked Bhavya to pay the money and take the gifts. He also promised to return the money later. Bhavya and her mother took a loan by using gold jewellery as collateral. But the gifts never came. </p>.<p>Bhavya then decided to file a complaint. West CEN police have registered a case and are investigating. </p>
