Two persons were detained by Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police, including a foreigner from the Ivory Coast, for defrauding Rs. 1.22 crore under the pretence of delivering a present package.
Hyderabad: Two persons were detained by the Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police, one a foreigner from the Ivory Coast, for defrauding Rs. 1.22 crore under the guise of delivering a present package.
The accused have been named as Shoma Purkayastha alias Shoma, a resident of Delhi and a native of Meghalaya, and Bakayoko Lassina (34), an Ivorian currently residing in New Delhi.
Police allegedly reacted after receiving a complaint from a Hyderabadi resident who said she had accepted a friend request from a man who identified himself as a Scottish doctor on social media. “The defendant, Bakayoko Lassina, created a fictitious account on social media and issued friend requests to random individuals. The Hyderabad-based complainant accepted friend requests and often spoke on social media and WhatsApp, according to the police.
The police said that the defendant then told the complainant that he was delivering a present package containing gold jewellery, diamonds, and other items.
A lady who identified herself as a customs department agent reached the victim on the phone a few days after Lassina notified her about the present package. She amassed some money under the guise of a clearing charge for the present package. The woman was later tricked into wiring Rs 1.22 crore to the scammers under various pretences, according to authorities.
The police said, “After collecting the money, they would go on to avoid the complainant’s calls and texts.”
In response to a complaint, a case was opened, and the two were charged under Sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code as well as Section 66(c)(D) of the Information Technology Act (IPC). According to police, the offenders were located in New Delhi and taken into custody.
Following an investigation, the police confiscated 12 mobile phones, 20 passbooks, 8 chequebooks, 9 cards, 4 dongel, 4 simcards, 1 laptop, and 3 identification cards.
