COIMBATORE: A businessman lost Rs 14 lakh to a woman who became friends with him through a social networking website.
According to police, S Farook (51) of Kuniyamuthur, who sells automobile spare parts, was friends with the woman, who introduced herself as Sunshine from the UK, and exchanged mobile numbers.
In January, the woman told Farook that she was running a boutique and requested him to help her purchase sarees. Further, she informed Farook that she would send him a parcel of electronic gift items and money for the saree purchase.
Two days later, a person claiming to be staff of the Airport Authority of India contacted Farook and told him about the parcel. He asked him to pay Rs 14 lakh, including tax, to clear the parcel. Farook transferred Rs 14 lakh to the person's account in several transactions between January 6 and 25. When Farook tried to contact the person and the woman, but in vain. He then approached Coimbatore city cyber crime police who registered a case under Sections 419, 420 of IPC and 66 (D) of the IT Act.
In another case, G Kumanan (35) of Neelikonampalayam lost Rs 12.95 lakh in an online link received on his WhatsApp number. The link mentioned that if he invested an amount in buying medical equipment, the investor would get a huge incentive in two months. Believing the message, Kumanan invested in December 2021 and later sensing that it was a trap, he filed a complaint with the city cyber crime police.
Rs 2.25 lakh recovered
Cybercrime police recovered Rs 2.25 lakh which was lured by unidentified persons from a Coimbatore native recently. Punith Mital (40) of Ponnaiahrajapuram lost Rs 2.25 lakh on February 9 while attempting to subscribe to an OTT platform. The fraudsters swindled the amount by sending a phishing link to his mobile number. Following Mital’s complaint, police traced the account through a payment wallet and money transfer application in which they had swindled the amount from Punith. A police officer said the amount was transferred to the account of the complainant.