A 45-year-old woman was allegedly cheated of ₹56 lakh after she made a profile on a matrimonial site in Noida’s Sector 41 and was contacted by a possible groom, police said on Sunday. The accused, after several weeks of chatting, is alleged to have had her lend him money by claiming that he needed it to evade law enforcement at an airport, police stated.
In her police complaint, with the name withheld, the Sector 41 resident said the man, Prakashbhai Patel, reached out to her on January 1 using the contact number provided on the matrimonial website. “He expressed interest in marriage. Over several days, he gained my trust by portraying himself as genuinely committed…,” reported the first information report (F.I.R.) filed at the cybercrime branch police station, Noida.
A few days later he claimed he was out of the country and was coming to India on January 27. “On that day, he claimed he was detained at the airport for carrying excess foreign currency. He requested money to resolve the issue. Despite initial hesitation, I sent the funds after emotional blackmail,” the FIR added.
Police later said that a woman, who was posing as a finance ministry official, had called her and demanded money in order to prevent legal action against her. “Later, the victim received multiple threats and fake summons from Mumbai Police. In multiple transactions from January 27 to April 27, she ended up losing ₹5,640,000. In the last four months, the fraudsters told the victim that he was detained and required financial help,” said Ranjeet Kumar Singh, Station House Officer or SHO of the Cyber Crime Branch.
Later, when the man continued to give excuses for not returning her money, she found out that she had been trapped and filed a complaint on Friday, officers said.
“We are tracing the money trail. As of now, ₹15,000 was frozen. A case under section 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by impersonation), and 336 (forgery) of the BNS and the IT Act was registered, and further investigation is underway,” the SHO added.
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