Cyber Crooks Pose As British Woman, Dupe Gwalior Contractor Of ₹1.23 Lakh In Facebook Friendship Scam

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): A 28-year-old contractor from Gwalior was allegedly duped of Rs 1.23 lakh by cyber fraudsters. The accused posed as a British woman on Facebook and lured him with the promise of helping exchange foreign currency into Indian rupees.

The accused allegedly demanded another Rs 70,000 after already receiving the money, following which the victim realised he had been cheated and lodged a complaint on the cyber helpline 1930.

The incident was reported from the Harishankarpuram area under the jurisdiction of Jhansi Road Police Station.

According to police, the victim, Kamalkant Yadav, came in contact with a woman through a Facebook account named “Lucky Charles” on April 24. The conversation later shifted to WhatsApp, where the woman introduced herself as “Dr Patricia R Madison” and claimed to be a resident of London planning a trip to India.

During the conversation, the woman allegedly told Kamalkant that she was carrying 95,000 British Pounds, worth around Rs 1.22 crore, while travelling to India. Police said the victim was convinced by the offer and believed he could earn a good commission by helping her exchange the currency into Indian rupees.

On April 27, Kamalkant reportedly received a call from another woman who introduced herself as an employee at Mumbai airport.

She claimed that foreign currency had arrived in his name and asked him to deposit registration charges to release the amount.

Initially, the victim transferred Rs 38,500 as registration fees. Later, the accused allegedly demanded additional payments in the name of laundry charges and processing fees, following which another Rs 88,600 was transferred.

After receiving nearly Rs 1.23 lakh, the fraudsters allegedly demanded another Rs 70,000. This raised suspicion, prompting Kamalkant to contact the cyber helpline and file a complaint.

Police have registered a case against an unidentified accused under the cheating and IT Act provisions on the basis of an e-zero FIR and launched an investigation.

Station in-charge Shakti Singh Yadav said the bank accounts where the money was transferred are being examined as part of the probe.