FPJ Cyber Secure: Woman Duped Of ₹2 Lakh Via Gift Card Fraud

A 31-year-old woman lost ₹2 lakh to cyber fraudsters who posed as her employer and asked her to buy gift cards from Apple company. In her complaint lodged at the Bhoiwada police, Suruchi Didodkar said that she received an email in the name of the owner of her company.

The digital communication talked about a task which she was expected to complete. It further asked her to buy gift cards and said that the money spent on the purchase will be reimbursed. Accordingly, Didodkar bought a total of six gift cards worth ₹5,000 each and sent them on the email received from the 'owner'.

The fraudster then asked the complainant to buy more cards and she complied, thinking that it was the employer's assignment. In this manner, the woman bought gift 40 cards totalling to ₹2 lakh and forwarded them to the cyber con via email, said a police official.

Subsequently, she asked her company for reimbursement. A rude shock came in when the employer denied knowing anything about the digital communication sent for buying gift cards. At this moment, the woman sensed the fraud and approached the police.

Based on her complaint, a case has been filed under relevant sections, including 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Information Technology Act.