Pune: Social media 'friend' dupes woman of Rs 51,000

PUNE: Approving a stranger's friend request on a social networking website proved to be a reckless decision for a 48-year-old Kothrud resident, who was duped of Rs51,000 between August 2018 and May this year.
The woman has registered a complaint in this regard with the Alankar police station.
The suspect promised to send the woman gifts from abroad and the gullible complainant transferred the money online to different bank accounts.When the woman realized that she had been duped, she approached the Alankar police station and lodged an FIR. The police have registered an offence under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information and Technology Act.
The police said that in May 2018 the suspect befriended the woman on a social networking site and the two started chatting online. After winning her confidence, the suspect managed to get her cellphone number and started chatting on a mobile phone messaging service.
"The suspect and the woman had begun communicating with each other and continued to do so for a few months. Later, the suspect told the complainant that he was sending her a gift from abroad," said an officer from the Alankar police station.
The woman then received a call from one person, who allegedly posed as an excise officer. According to details presented in the police complaint, this person told the woman to pay Rs30,000 as the excise duty in order to receive her gift. "The woman transferred the amount online as told," the officer said.
The police officer added that the woman did not get any gift despite following the process and making the payment. However, the suspect continued to remain in contact with her.
Recently, he told the complainant that he had travelled all the way to India to meet her. But, he was detained at the airport by the customs department. The suspect requested her to transfer Rs21,000 for the 'Yellow card immigration fee'. The woman allegedly transferred this amount too. "When the suspect continued to demand money from her, the latter became suspicious and lodged the police complaint," the officer said.