Karkala woman loses Rs 11.94 lakh to Facebook ‘friend’ scam

Udupi: A woman from Karkala, Udupi district, lost nearly Rs 12 lakhs after trusting a Facebook acquaintance.

The 38-year-old resident of Kuntibail in Miyaru, Karkala taluk, befriended a person named Mark Sima on Facebook. As their friendship grew, she shared her address with Sima.

Later, a person identifying as Sunita Kumari contacted her, claiming to have sent a parcel from London containing gold items and pounds. They then demanded customs charges and threatened her with an IT raid if the amount was not paid.

Believing this, the woman transferred a total of Rs 11,94,490 through Google Pay in multiple transactions.

A case has been registered at Udupi Cyber Crime Police Station under Crime Number 60/2024, Section 66(C)(D) of the IT Act. The police are investigating the matter.