A 52-year-old teacher has lodged a complaint with the Vikhroli police claiming that she was befriended on Facebook by a person who claimed to be a doctor from England. The said person then on the pretext of sending a gift parcel containing an iPhone, a diamond watch and gold chain, induced the victim to pay Rs 7.15 lakh, in order to claim the parcel.
According to the Vikhroli police, in January this year, the victim had received a Facebook friend request from a person who claimed to be an orthopedic surgeon from England. The victim had accepted the said request. In April this year, the doctor had informed the victim that he had done some shopping for his daughter and for the victim as well.
The accused had asked the victim to share her address after which the victim enquired about what were the gifts he would be sending. The accused then shared a photograph with the victim which contained an iPhone, a diamond watch and gold chain. On April 13, the victim received a phone call from an unknown woman who claimed to be working at the international airport, police said.
"Initially the accused made the victim pay money on the pretext of various charges in order to claim the parcel and later they started threatening the victim stating that the parcel contained 40000 USD and the victim would have to face legal action from the police if she did not pay the custom clearance charges. The victim ended up paying Rs 7.15 lakh to the fraudsters," said a police officer.
He added, "Later when the demand for more money continued, the victim consulted with her friends and realised that she had been duped. The victim then approached the police and got a criminal offence registered in the matter. Further investigation is on in the case."
