A Facebook post, an exciting offer, and a few WhatsApp chats later, a Gwalior man found himself the victim of a cyber fraud. According to police, Kamalkant Yadav, a contractor from the Harishankarpuram locality, was targeted by fraudsters posing as a foreign woman on Facebook and was allegedly duped of Rs 1.23 lakh.
How the Scam Unfolded
As per investigators, the fraudster first introduced themselves as 'Lucky Charles' before continuing the conversations as 'Dr Patricia'. The interactions began on the social media app on April 24. The woman allegedly claimed she lived in London and planned to visit India while carrying 95,000 British pounds, equivalent to Rs 1.22 crore.
She reportedly told Yadav that she would need help converting the money into Indian currency and offered him a commission along with expensive gifts.
The Escalation of Fraud
According to the police, the fraud escalated on April 27 when Yadav received a call from another woman posing as an official from Mumbai airport. The caller claimed that customs clearance and registration fees had to be paid before the foreign currency could be released. Yadav initially transferred Rs 38,500 as a registration fee. Officials shared that he was eventually persuaded to transfer more money under additional procedural charges, transferring a total of Rs 1.23 lakh into multiple accounts.
Yadav only realized something was wrong after the accused demanded another Rs 70,000 and quickly contacted the cyber helpline at 1930 to file a complaint. Based on the information, Jhansi Road Police Station registered an E-Zero FIR against the unidentified accused and began the investigation.
"The complainant stated that during a Facebook chat, a woman claimed she wanted to visit India from abroad as a tourist. Communication continued regularly, and she subsequently defrauded him of Rs 1.23 lakh through bank transfers. A case has been registered, and an investigation is underway," said Inspector Shakti Singh.
