Mumbai man tried to help social media 'friend', scammed out of 9 lakhs

Mumbai: A 65-year-old man was allegedly cheated of Rs. 9.4 lakh by an unidentified person who had befriended him on social media and the person’s accomplice, police said.

The man, a resident of Mumbai’s suburban Kandivali, filed a complaint Wednesday, a police official said.

The complainant, who runs coaching classes, was befriended by a person on social media in August this year. The person said her name was Leonie and she ran a salon in Jordan, he told police.

The complainant received a call some days later, and the caller, who identified himself as Amit, said he was speaking on behalf of Leonie who was at the Delhi International Airport.

The person was carrying USD 70,000 and had been stopped by immigration authorities, and urgently needed Rs. 24,000 to get clearance, Amit told the complainant.

If the complainant deposited money in her account she will return it in due course, Amit said.

The complainant deposited the money. But he kept receiving calls over the next three months with request to deposit more money on various pretexts, police said.

The complainant ended up paying Rs. 9.4 lakh before he realised that something was wrong, he told police.

He tried to contact the person as well as Amit, but their numbers were switched off, police said. Finally, he decided to lodge a complaint.

Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and under the Information Technology Act against unidentified persons and further probe is on.