Online gift fraud: Pune woman duped of Rs 37.88 lakh

After the woman agreed to marry him, the fraudster told her that he was sending her a costly gift by parcel. Then, in a couple of days, the victim got a phone call from Delhi saying her gift had arrived at the airport and she would have to pay Rs 38,000 as customs charges.

The police said the woman transferred the money to a bank account number given to her by the fraudulent caller. However, she again got a call from a person claiming to be an official at the Delhi airport. She was then told that her gift is worth about Rs 3 crore and to collect it, she will have to pay more towards various kinds of charges, or else an offence would be lodged against her.

“Between June 2 and June 9, 2023, the woman transferred Rs 37.88 lakh from her and her father’s bank accounts to four other bank accounts, details of which were given to her by the fraudsters. After knowing that she had been cheated, she filed a complaint with the police. We tried to stop the transactions and recover her money. But the fraudsters had already withdrawn it. The FIR has been lodged now and further probe is on,” police sub-inspector Bharat Ware, who is the investigating officer, said.

The police added that the woman is well-educated and holds an MBA degree. Fraudsters communicated with her over WhatsApp using fake names. The police have booked them and the holders of the bank accounts used for the crime, under Sections 419, 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.