Fake ‘Syrian Doctor’ Befriends Doctor On Facebook, Dupes Him Of ₹6.11 Lakh In Indore

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A doctor fell prey to a cyber scam after being befriended on social media by a woman claiming to be a doctor from Syria, losing Rs 6.11 lakh to the fraudsters.

Following the complaint, Azad Nagar police registered a case and began investigating the bank accounts and phone numbers used in the crime.

Azad Nagar police station in-charge Lokesh Bhadoriya said Dr Ayaz Ahmed Qureshi of Shaheen Nagar had filed a complaint.

Qureshi said that on May 1, he became friends on Facebook with someone using the name "Dr Ayesha Khan", who claimed to be a doctor living in Syria.

During the chat, the woman said she wanted to move to India because of the war in Syria. A few weeks later, she told him she had reached Delhi, but Customs had held her medical equipment and personal belongings.

The scammers then called Qureshi, pretending to be Customs officials and RBI representatives. They asked him to pay clearance fees to release the seized items.

Believing the story, Qureshi sent money in several transactions: Rs 25,000, Rs 49,000, Rs 47,000 and Rs 4.90 lakh. In total, he lost Rs 6.11 lakh to different accounts.

When the requests for money did not stop, Qureshi realised it was a scam. He reported it to the state cyber cell, and the case was later sent to Azad Nagar police station.

Police are now checking call records and account transaction logs the victim provided to trace the scammers.