Hyderabad: A 31-year-old civil engineer from Balapur, Hyderabad, was defrauded of ₹5 lakh by scammers who posed as a friend on a dating app and a Customs officer. The Hyderabad Cyber Crime police registered a case on Monday based on the victim's complaint.
The victim reported that he connected with an individual named Joseph, who claimed to be a UK citizen, on the dating app Grindr in early May. "After weeks of building trust through regular chats on Grindr and WhatsApp, Joseph said he was visiting India at the end of May," the victim told police.
On May 29, the complainant received messages from Joseph claiming he was detained at Mumbai airport for carrying $150,000 in cash. Shortly after, another fraudster, impersonating a Customs officer, contacted the victim and demanded immediate payments for clearance fees, anti-money laundering charges, and legal costs to secure Joseph's release with the US dollars.
"Due to emotional pressure and reassurance by Joseph of reimbursement, I transferred money to multiple bank accounts between May 29 and June 5. As Joseph and the Customs officer kept asking for more money instead of providing proof of Joseph getting released from detention or talking about returning the amount, I realised that it was a fraud," the victim said.
After the victim stopped making payments, he received threats from an unknown number on June 8, warning that his private photographs would be leaked on social media if he did not pay more money.
The victim approached the police on Monday, and a case was booked under Sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act and Sections 318(4) (cheating) and 319(2) (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
