Facebook friendship turns into Rs 15.2 lakh airport scam for Gorakhpur man

A Facebook friendship turned costly for a man from Gorakhpur's Khajni area after cyber fraudsters allegedly duped him of Rs 15.20 lakh. The fraudsters claimed to be a woman whose luggage had been detained at Delhi airport and sought help, police said on Tuesday.

Indralal Jaiswal, a resident of Khoria alias Bhiti village, approached police after realising that he had been cheated. An FIR has been registered against an unidentified woman and the case is being investigated with the help of the cybercrime cell, police said.

According to Jaiswal's complaint, he became friends on Facebook with a woman who introduced herself as Charlotte Olivia and claimed to be a US resident working in Syria. During their conversations, she allegedly told him that she wanted to visit India.

Later, the woman claimed that she had reached Delhi airport but that officials had detained her luggage and demanded money for its release.

Believing her claims, Jaiswal transferred Rs 15,20,399 from his SBI account through the bank's app to several bank accounts provided by the woman, according to the complaint.

However, the demands for further payments allegedly continued, following which Jaiswal became suspicious and realised that he had fallen victim to a cyber fraud.

He subsequently lodged a complaint on the national cybercrime portal and approached the police. Jaiswal told investigators that the WhatsApp numbers linked to the woman displayed the names Charlotte Olivia and Sonam Kumari.

He has also submitted transaction records and other evidence to the police, officials said.

Inspector Jayant Kumar Singh said, "an FIR had been registered against an unidentified woman in the name of Charlotte Olivia."

"The cybercrime cell is examining the transactions and collecting details of the bank accounts allegedly used in the fraud," he said.