Bengaluru: A divorced woman from Yeshwanthpur in Bengaluru has been cheated of ₹1.7 crore in an elaborate cyber fraud after getting caught in a Facebook friendship scam. This is another case of online financial fraud targeting vulnerable people with social media platforms as a source of finance’s increasing menace.
According to police, the accused contacted the woman on Facebook to say he was a professional working in the United Kingdom. They had an online friendship and later exchanged mobile phone numbers and continued to chat on WhatsApp.
The suspect promised to send expensive gifts, including gold ornaments, diamonds, sarees and other valuables, from the UK during their talks, investigators said. To convince the woman that the parcel had been sent, he provided photos of the gifts and what investigators believe were fake courier receipts.
The fraud grew when the woman was informed that the parcel was held by customs authorities in New Delhi. The accused said he did not have Indian currency to pay the required customs charges and assured the woman that he would reimburse her after arriving in India.
Soon after, the woman received a phone call from people who posed as customs officials, who demanded payment to release the parcel. She believed the claims and sent ₹40 lakh through RTGS.
And the fraud did not end there, investigators said. The woman was persuaded to make multiple additional payments over a span of time. In addition to bank transfers, the fraudsters may have personally collected cash from her on several occasions.
The woman became suspicious when she was repeatedly contacted for money, the complaint says. She tried to contact the man she had met on the Internet, but his phone was switched off. When she realized she had been deceived, she called the police.
Based on her complaint, a case has been registered at the North Division Cyber Crime Police Station in Bengaluru. Police will investigate the accused, identify the bank accounts used in the fraud, and determine whether there is a cybercrime network in place.
Cybercrime investigators have warned the public to be cautious when interacting with strangers on social media. People shouldn't send money based on promises of gifts, parcels, lottery winnings, or investment opportunities without verification, they say.
Officials also warn that fraudsters often impersonate foreign professionals, customs officers, courier executives, and government officials to gain the trust of victims. Fake documents, courier receipts and spoofed phone calls are commonly used to make the scams appear legitimate.
The investigation into the case is ongoing, and authorities are working to identify those responsible and recover the victim's financial losses wherever possible.
