Banker loses Rs 3.4 lakh, woman loses Rs 1.5 lakh to online fraudsters

A 35-year-old bank employee left poorer by Rs 3.4 lakh after he befriended a “woman” on a matrimonial website. Dhananjay Bhat Chitte, a resident of Bengaluru, told the police that he trusted a person, who called herself Shilpa, and paid her money.

After several online interactions and telephone conversations, Mr Chitte asked the woman to marry him. She agreed to take the relationship forward, but later turned to him for financial help citing a medical emergency, said the police.

According to the complaint filed by Mr Chitte, ‘Shilpa’ told him that her brother had been hospitalised for a surgical procedure and the family needed Rs. 3.4 lakh to pay the hospital bill. He agreed to help and transferred the amount to her bank account. A few days later, however, when he tried to reach out to her, he found the mobile switched off. And thus, ‘Shilpa’ was unreachable.

Realising that he had been duped, Mr. Chitte filed a complaint with the Girinagar police, who are now trying to track down the culprit.

Rs 1.45 lakh gift!

In another online scam, a 49-year-old woman was recently duped by a person who befriended her on social media and ‘borrowed’ Rs. 1.45 lakh from her, promising her to send her a New Year’s gift.

The victim, Veena V.C., a resident of HAL II Stage, told the police that the person had introduced himself as Gerald Louis from the United States. In December last, he told her that he would be sending her a New Year’s gift as a token of their friendship.

A few days later, a person contacted her on her mobile phone saying a parcel had arrived for her from the U.S., but to claim it from customs she would have to pay Rs. 1.25 lakh. In a separate transaction, she was made to transfer another Rs. 20,000.

Afterwards, when she did not receive the gift, she contacted Louis, who allegedly threatened to upload some private photos that she had sent him. The cybercrime police are investigating the matter.