Gurugram Woman Duped of Rs 1.46 Lakh by Man She Spoke to on Social Media

Gurugram: A woman has been defrauded of ₹1.46 lakh by an individual she befriended on social media platform, in a case involving a fake customs clearance scam, officials revealed on Wednesday.

The woman has been asked to make mandatory payments to fraudsters posing as customs department officials to receive a gift from abroad.

According to a police complaint, a woman was scammed by a man she met on Instagram. The scammer, posing as a European interested in learning Hindi, convinced her that he had sent her a gift from Europe.

The man, despite her refusal, insisted that a package was on its way. She later received a call in an unfamiliar language and a message stating that a package from "Calais Eric" was arriving at Mumbai International Airport. The message claimed that a Rs 50,000 clearance fee was required for customs.

When the woman refused to pay, she was told the package couldn't be returned. After she paid the fee, the scammers demanded an additional Rs 96,000 for insurance and income tax. They then requested another Rs 1.70 lakh, prompting her to report the scam to the police.

An FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Cybercrime (South) Police Station on Tuesday. A senior cyber police officer confirmed that the investigation is ongoing.

(With PTI inputs)