Student duped of Rs 16.4 lakh

Mangalore, July 5: A hotel management student in the city has been cheated to the tune of Rs 16.40 lakh in an electronic fraud perpetrated on him by some unidentifed persons who operated using a fake address of Yamunanagar in Haryana. According to a complaint lodged by Francis D'Souza of Surathkal with Surathkal police, his nephew Hubert D'Souza lost the amount after he responded to a message received on his mobile phone last month.

Ramesh Hanapur, PSI, Surathkal police station, who visited Yamunanagar based on the complaint said the name and address of the person that Hubert corresponded with was found to be false. The fraudster(s) had set up base in a remote village in Yamunanagar in a rented house, he said, adding that the company that Hubert remitted money to existed only on paper. "We have some leads on the fraudsters based on their PAN card," he noted.

Relatives of Hubert had deposited amount in Canara Bank at Surathkal to enable him pursue his studies as he had lost both his parents. Hubert was informed that he had won $4.5 lakh in 'ICC World Cup Fortune Programme.' Hubert who exchanged e-mails based on the message he received on his cell phone remitted various amounts to Goodluck Enterprises, Haryana, R K Lal, Akhilesh Kumar, H Preet Singh and M/s Preet Enterprises.

Hubert was told that the prize amount would be sent to him within a day if he remitted Rs 1.5 lakh as final payment towards tax liabilities. As Hubert had spent the money he already had, he asked for financial help from relatives. This is when relatives got wind of the scam. But the damage had been done and the fraudsters had withdrawn the money that Hubert had deposited in the account number mentioned in the communication, Ramesh said.