A 32-year-old woman from Pune has been duped of Rs 37.88 lakh in an online gift fraud. The victim, who has not been identified, met the accused on a matrimonial website. The accused claimed to be working in a big company in the United Kingdom (UK) and said that he would be settling down in Mumbai in a few months.
The accused told the victim that he was sending her a costly gift by parcel. He then called her and said that the gift had been seized by customs at the airport and that she needed to pay a customs duty of Rs 37.88 lakh to release it. The victim, who was unaware that she was being scammed, transferred the money to the accused’s bank account.
The accused then stopped responding to the victim’s calls and messages. The victim realized that she had been duped and filed a complaint with the Talegaon Dabhade police station. The police have registered a case and are investigating the matter.
The police have warned people to be careful about online gift frauds. They said that people should never transfer money to someone they do not know, even if they claim to be sending them a gift. They also advised people to verify the identity of the person they are talking to before transferring any money.
This is not the first time that someone has been duped in an online gift fraud. In 2022, a woman from Mumbai was duped of Rs 20 lakh in a similar scam. The accused in that case had also claimed to be working in a big company in the UK and had lured the victim into a relationship.
The police have said that online gift frauds are becoming increasingly common. They have urged people to be careful about such scams and to verify the identity of the person they are talking to before transferring any money.