2 from Chandigarh fall prey to online fraudsters

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 13

The UT police have registered two cases of online fraud. In one of the incidents, a 32-year-old man was allegedly duped of Rs2.13 lakh.

The complainant, a resident of Sector 20, alleged that he was searching for a job on Google in May. In the process, he came across a website through which he had an interaction with a person, who gave him the mobile number of a woman named Pooja Sharma.

As per the complainant, the woman offered to develop physical relations with him.

The victim asked her to come to his house, to which she agreed. However, later she asked the complainant to meet at a hotel.

The woman made the complainant deposit money in a bank account of Shiv Medical Store on the pretext of purchasing a ‘sex kit’.

The victim was also given another number saying that it was of a hotel employee who made him transfer more money through PayTm on the pretext of booking a hotel in Sector 17 and security charges. The victim kept paying for hotel booking after which the woman used to cancel her visit.

The woman made the victim deposit money on various occasions between June and July by giving him false assurances that she would return the entire money when she meets him. The victim was made to transfer a total of Rs2.13 lakh through various modes.

The woman also sent the picture of a BMW car to the complainant and told him that she could not come to meet him as her car had met with an accident. The victim later found that the woman had sent him the picture of an accident that took place in Hyderabad. The victim later realised that he had been duped by fraudsters, following which he submitted a complaint with the Cyber Cell Investigation Cell of the UT police. A case of cheating has been registered at the Sector 19 police station and an investigation has been initiated into the matter.

In another fraud, Alka, a resident of Mani Majra, was duped of Rs8,500 on the pretext of providing her a job.

The woman alleged that she got a call regarding a job at a pharmaceutical company in Chandigarh. The victim went through an online interview conducted through an agency named e-Solution Virtual.

The victim alleged that the fraudsters made her transfer Rs3,500 in the Google Pay account of Amandeep Kaur and Rs5,000 in a bank account of Rekha Rani for medical examination. The fraudsters claimed that the money was refundable. The victim was assured that her training would start from August 25. However, the suspects later stopped taking her calls and blocked her phone number.

The police were informed about the incident, who registered a case at the Mani Majra police station and initiated investigations into the matter.