NGO worker loses Rs8.4L in matrimonial fraud

Pune: A woman (28) on Tuesday registered a complaint with the Pune cybercrime police stating that she lost Rs8.4 lakh in a matrimonial fraud.The woman is working with an NGO and residing in Yerawada. A case has been registered and the investigations are underway, an officer from the Pune cybercrime police said.The officer said the woman is divorced. She had made a profile on a matrimonial website for divorced people. In April, a London-based NRI contacted her after checking the profile. He told her that he was running a real estate business in London. "After a few calls, he proposed to the woman for marriage," the officer said.He said according to the complainant, the man on April 29 told her that he was coming to Pune to meet her and shared a copy of his air ticket. However, the next day, the complainant received a call from a woman, who claimed to be calling from Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi. The woman told the victim that the man was caught with 73,000 pounds.She demanded Rs 35,000 for issuing a certificate to allow him to enter the country with such an amount of foreign currency. "When the complainant refused to give the money, the man messaged her and requested her to pay the money. He assured her he would return the money immediately," he said.The officer said the woman then transferred money to a bank account number provided to her. The suspect kept taking money from her by claiming the charges had increased."On May 3, the man told the complainant that he reached Pune airport, where he was again detained. The woman then sold her gold jewellery, borrowed money from her friend and transferred it to the bank account given to her," the officer said.He said almost a month later, the man again contacted the woman and told her that he was arrested in a money laundering case and was being taken to a court in Pune. "The man again demanded money by citing the reason for paying commission to the Pune police, lawyers and judges. The woman, once more, transferred the money," he said.Later, the man demanded money once again and she refused. She, however, received an email from ‘customs' stating that the department would share that man's location only after the payment.The woman again fell prey to that trick and transferred money. "She was then told that the man had damaged a lawyer's cellphone and laptop. They took money from her under the pretext of damages. On June 2, she again transferred money for the treatment of the man," he said.The officer said after transferring Rs 8.4 lakh in total, the woman realised that she was being duped and stopped responding to the calls made by the man.
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