KOCHI: An NRI and his wife lost over Rs 20 lakh after they were cheated by a stranger he had befriended on Facebook. Ernakulam rural cyber police launched a probe after the wife of the NRI lodged a complaint.
According to police, the complainant and her husband from Angamaly were cheated on between December 7 and 14. “The husband who works abroad befriended a person via Facebook. They used to chat through Facebook and WhatsApp. The accused claimed that he also works abroad and promised to visit them when in India,” an officer said.
The accused then proceeded to seek financial assistance from the couple in the first week of December. “He told them that while arriving at New Delhi airport he was intercepted by Customs and that the baggage they seized contained a demand draft for Rs 3 crore. He sought help to get the DD released from Customs. He promised to reimburse the entire amount once it was released,” the officer said.
The complainant’s husband arranged the money from his friend and relatives. The payments were made across 11 banks and a UPI transaction. Now, the accused is unreachable. In total the family lost Rs 20.05 lakh, the officer said.
Police are looking to track the accounts to which the money was sent. Attempts are being made to freeze these accounts.