Virtual friend dupes Kharadi woman of Rs 15.5 lakh

Pune: A ‘virtual friend’ duped a 28-year-old woman from Kharadi of Rs 15.50 lakh on the promise of sending her jewellery and garments from Finland.

The fraud took place in June last year. The woman filed an online complaint after realising that she had been duped. Following preliminary investigations, a case was registered with the Chandannagar police on Wednesday.

Inspector Amol Dhas of the Chandannagar police told TOI that the complainant works with a private company in Kharadi. She was using a dating app and came in contact with a man in May last year who claimed to be from Finland.

“A few days later, they exchanged cellphone numbers and started chatting with each other,” Dhas said.

The officer said that on June 7 last year, the ‘virtual friend’ told the woman that he had sent garments and jewellery to her through a courier company. He shared the name of the company and a tracking number to help her track the parcel.

“Later, the complainant received a call from an unknown cellphone number. The caller identified himself as a customs officer and told her that a parcel bearing her name had been held. The ‘officer’ told her that she needed to pay charges if she wanted the parcel released,” he said.

The officer said the crooks took Rs 15.50 lakh from the woman by citing different reasons related to customs clearance. She realised she was being duped when the crooks continued to demand money.

“The woman stopped responding to the crooks and filed an online complaint. Our investigations are on,” the officer said.