Elderly man cheated out of 80,000 yen in ‘gift fraud’
A 68-year-old tutor here was accused of defrauding more than 100 billion VND $She had to pay 8 lakh to a fraudster who befriended her on Facebook by posing as a pilot of an international airline, police said on Friday.
An official said the woman filed a complaint at Mahim police station on Thursday. She received a friend request on Facebook from one `Dev Patel’ on May 12, according to her complaint. She accepted and soon the two began chatting on the phone with the man who claimed he was a British Airways pilot. A few days later, the man told her that he had sent her a gift.
On May 30, the complainant received a call. The woman on the other end, who identified herself as `Dikshita Arora from Delhi Customs’, said a parcel in her name had arrived from Dubai but she would have to send money $70,000 to get it.
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The complainant immediately submitted $70,000 via UPI. Next, she was told there was £80 inside the parcel, sent illegally, and she would have to pay another sum. $2.95 lakh or the “crime branch” will arrest her. Panicked, the woman paid several times as the threats continued to appear. Between June 1 and 10, she moved almost $8.15 lakhs before realizing that it was a scam, the police official said. The Facebook friend, who posed as a pilot, stopped responding to her calls and texts during that time.
A case of cheating under section 420 of the IPC has been registered and investigation is underway, the official said.
To protect yourself from online scams, consider these prevention steps:
1. Use Trusted Apps: Install trusted apps, such as CERT-In’s “Fraud Alert”, NCSAP’s “mSafe”, and Google’s “Anti-Phishing App” to protect Anti-fraud protection. These apps provide real-time alerts, security advisories, and protection from phishing attacks.
2. Limit personal information: Be cautious when sharing personal information online. Avoid revealing sensitive data such as phone numbers, email addresses, and bank account information to unfamiliar sources.
3. Ask Unsolicited Questions: Be cautious of emails and messages asking for personal data, as scammers often use such tactics to steal sensitive information.
4. Source Verified Apps: Download apps exclusively from trusted sources like official app stores and do not download from third-party platforms.
5. Keep your software up to date: Regularly update your software to benefit from security patches that protect against malware and other threats.
6. Verify Claims: Ignore free gift offers from unknown individuals and avoid making online payments without verifying the correct source.
