Woman loses Rs 14 lakh in courier scam in Karnataka

Udupi: A woman in Shirva police limits, lost Rs 13.9 lakh to scamsters in a courier scam. According to the complainant, she was introduced to a man via mobile, about a month ago. He claimed to be staying abroad, and informed her that he would send a gift courier in her name, on Feb 22, and sent a photo of it on WhatsApp.On Feb 23, around 10am, while the complainant was at work, a woman called her, saying a courier had arrived in her name and she needed to pay Rs 49,700 to release it from the airport.
The complainant transferred the money to a bank account in Delhi, through her bank account in Udupi on the same day. Later, she was informed that the courier contained foreign currency worth 30,000 pounds, which is illegal to send via courier, and was asked to pay an additional Rs 1.9 lakh. She was given three different account numbers where she transferred the amount.The woman later called the complainant, asking for more money for money exchange. Following this, the complainant sent a total of Rs 2.5 lakh in instalments. The woman continued to demand more money for documentation, and between Feb 23 and 27, the complainant transferred a total of Rs 13,99,700 to various accounts as instructed.When the complainant contacted her foreign friend, he claimed to have sent 30,000 pounds in the courier, and the woman on the call said it was worth Rs 37 lakh in Indian currency. Trusting their words, the complainant sent the total amount, but the courier never arrived.Based on the complaint, a case was registered at Shirva police station under section 66(D) of the IT Act and sections 316(2), 318(4) and 3(5) BNS.