Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 25: A man has been duped of Rs 7.76 lakh by online scammers on Facebook.
As per official spokesman, Crime Branch Kashmir received a complaint from Ishfaq Ahmed Zargar, son of late Mohammed Shafi Zargar of Tawheedabad Nowshehra Srinagar, revealing therein that the complainant developed Facebook friendship with one London (UK) based lady Aasia Lina, who requested the complainant to make arrangements for her visit to Kashmir.
The complainant received a phone call from her to collect a parcel sent by her at his address. Subsequently, he received another phone call and was requested to pay an amount of Rs 35,000 as customs charges on the said parcel containing a cheque of hundred thousand pounds, laptop, cell phone etc which she had purportedly sent on his address and he paid the said money.
Thereafter, he received series of phone calls, being asked to pay Rs 68,000, Rs 1,79,500 and Rs 4,94000 for clearance in Foreign Ministry, obtaining UN code and Government tax code respectively. The complainant thus transferred the money into the different account numbers provided by the said caller. He was duped in this way with an amount of Rs 7,76,500.
The spokesman said that a preliminary enquiry was initiated at Crime Branch Kashmir, during the course of which it came to fore that the complainant has transferred the aforementioned amounts in various accounts on the mere phone calls received by him on different occasions who have later realized that he has been duped.
It transpired that the complaint was further asked to deposit an amount of Rs 942000 for obtaining antiterrorism code, but this time the complainant realized that he had been duped, the spokesman said, adding that a case under FIR Number 29/18 under Section 420, 120-B r/w Section 66-D of IT Act has been registered and investigation taken up.
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