HYDERABAD: The Cyberabad Cyber Crime police arrested a Vijayawada-based man for targeting and cheating several women who were looking for grooms on matrimonial sites. He would create fake profiles, connect with innocent women, make false promises of marriage and a future in a foreign country; and finally loot money from them, the police said.
The accused, identified as Potluri Sribala Vamshi Krishna, 37, is a habitual offender and has nine cases registered against him across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
Krishna’s scam came to light after a 30-year-old woman filed a complaint earlier in the month saying that she was cheated by him to the tune of Rs 2.71 crores.
In her complaint, she revealed that she met with one Rishi Kumar, claiming to be a US resident, working as an assistant director of a private company. He promised to marry her and cheated her by telling her that to process a K-1 US (fiance) visa, she needed a
CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited) score of 845, higher than her actual score of 743. He then promised to help increase her CIBIL score. However, he misled and manipulated her into obtaining loans and credit cards.
Besides cheating the woman, he persuaded her cousin to participate in a fraudulent scheme so she can get a job in Microsoft Corporation in the US. Here too, he asked the woman to take loans to purportedly improve her CIBIL score.
Although Rishi Kumar assured them refunds and reported to them with a purportedly increased CIBIL score, both the women suffered significant financial losses.
Police revealed that the accused, Krishna, was addicted to online betting and racing courses and did not have enough money to pay for it. Thereafter, he paid Rs 2,500 for membership on a matrimonial site and cheated women to take their money.
Under the pretext of a higher CIBIL score, he would manipulate the women to take loans. Later, he would take their internet banking credentials and transfer a huge lump sum to his bank accounts.
During investigation, the police seized six bank pass books, ten debit/credit cards, three mobile phones and about six SIM cards from the accused.
The police urged the public not to place complete trust on online websites and not to transfer any amount without meeting any person physically and without proper verification.