November 28th 2023.
A 27-year-old woman was duped of Rs 9.29 lakh after accepting a friend request from an unknown person on Instagram. The Dombivali resident, who filed a complaint with the police, said that the fraudulent request came on September 12 from a person posing as a foreign-based merchant navy officer.
The woman and the conman exchanged their WhatsApp numbers and soon he asked her for her address under the pretext of sending a gift parcel. He even sent her a photograph of himself.
On October 8, the woman received a call from an unknown person claiming to be from Delhi. The caller said that her parcel from the United Kingdom contained 25,000 UK pounds, and that she would face a penalty for trying to get foreign currency in an illegal manner. He said that the only way to get the parcel was to pay Rs 15,500 as Customs duty.
The woman paid the amount, after which the conman took more than Rs 9 lakh from her on various pretexts, claiming that the only way to avoid legal action was to pay the money.
The police have registered a case under Section 66D of the Information Technology Act. This is the latest in a wave of pre-paid task fraud on hotel reviews. This unfortunate incident serves as a reminder to be vigilant and cautious when it comes to online interactions with strangers.
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