‘London-based’ Facebook friend dupes contractor of ₹1.23 lakh:Built friendship through WhatsApp chats; promised to visit India soon

A foreign woman on Facebook swindled ₹1.23 lakh from a contractor in Gwalior by tricking him with the promise of visiting India and exchanging British Pounds into Indian currency. The fraudsters demanded another ₹70 thousand, that’s when the victim realized he was scammed. After this, he lodged a complaint on cyber helpline 1930. The case is from Harishankarpuram, under the Jhansi Road police station area. Contractor Kamalkant Yadav (28) became acquainted with a woman on April 24 through a Facebook account named ‘Lucky Charles’. After this, conversation started on WhatsApp under the name ‘Dr. Patricia R. Madison’. The woman introduced herself as a resident of London and expressed her intention to visit India. Lured with 95 Thousand Pounds The woman told Kamalkant that she was bringing 95 thousand British Pounds (approx. ₹1.22 crore) while coming to India. Hearing the amount, Kamalkant fell into her trap. He thought he would get a good commission by exchanging the currency and also get a chance to travel with a foreign woman. Demanded Money Posing as Airport Staff On April 27, Kamalkant received a call from a woman. She introduced herself as a Mumbai Airport employee. The woman said that foreign currency had arrived in his name, and a registration fee would have to be deposited to release it. After this, money was demanded on various pretexts. The victim deposited ₹38,500 as a registration fee in the first installment. After this, ₹88,600 more were transferred under the guise of laundry charges and processing fees. Demanded ₹70 Thousand More, Then the Truth Was Revealed After taking one and a quarter lakh rupees, the fraudsters demanded another ₹70 thousand, that’s when Kamalkant became suspicious. He immediately lodged a complaint on cyber helpline 1930. Based on the e-zero FIR, the police registered a case against unknown accused under fraud and IT Act and started investigation. Station in-charge Shakti Singh Yadav said that the youth was defrauded on the pretext of currency exchange after befriending them on Facebook. The bank accounts to which the amount was transferred are being investigated.