PUNE: Two persons were cheated in two different cases of cybercrime frauds in Yerawada and Mundhwa. In the first case which was registered with the Yerawada police station, a 32-year-old woman was cheated of Rs 11.45 lakh by a person who identified himself as David Williams.
The victim had met the accused through Instagram.The victim told police officials that David first became friends with the victim and then told her that he is sending an expensive gift for her. The victim later received a call from a person who claimed to be calling from the customs department and asked her to pay Rs 11.45 lakh to claim her gift. The victim paid the amount to claim her gift which she never received. Following which the victim approached Yerwada police station and lodged a case of cheating. Police officials said that such frauds are most common frauds and some people easily fall prey to such scams.
“After making women believe that their gifts are being sent through courier, they pose as custom officials, seizing the gifts and take additional money via online transfer for ‘releasing’ the same. This is a part of advance fee fraud which people should avoid falling prey to,” said a police official. Police Inspector Yunus Shaikh of Yerawada police station is investigating the case.
In another case, a 45-year-old man was cheated of Rs 1.75 lakh by an unidentified person. The victim wanted to open a new bank account at a private bank and called on a phone number which he got from the internet.
The caller told him that to open the account he needs to open a UPI account. The caller then phished all bank details from him along with the one time password to steal Rs 1.75 lakh from his bank account. Police Inspector Murlidhar Khokale is investigating the case.
