Despite several warnings, the trend of people falling prey to online fraudsters is continuing, with a techie recently losing Rs 16 lakh to a stranger she met on Instagram.
The stranger followed the old trick of offering expensive gifts and looting her in the guise of customs, tax, and courier charges.
Nagawara resident Shilpa (name changed) found that a stranger had begun to follow her Instagram account on October 20. The man Steve (name changed) sent her messages and the two had become friends and exchanged phone numbers. Steve had claimed that he lives in the UK and is in a top position with a reputed company. He first told Shilpa that he liked her and, two weeks later, proposed to marry her. He said he would visit India to marry her.
Unaware that he is a fraudster, Shilpa showed interest in him. Steve told her he is sending her gifts, including jewellery and foreign currency. He sent her pictures of the gifts and the courier receipts.
In November, a stranger claiming to be a customs official called Shilpa and said she needed to pay customs charges to get the parcel. Shilpa crosschecked with Steve who convinced her to pay the charges and get hold of the parcel. She transferred money online to the bank accounts shared by the fraudsters. They made her pay multiple times to different accounts in the name of tax and courier charges.
After losing Rs 16 lakh, Shilpa realised that she had been conned. She refused to pay further and approached the police.
An investigating officer from the East CEN Crime police station admitted that such kind of cheating cases are not new. “We have been creating awareness, but even educated people fall victim to fraudsters,” the officer lamented, adding that a case has been filed under the Information Technology Act and efforts are on to nab the criminals.
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