Mumbai: A 34-year-old Assistant Cell Officer working with the Maharashtra govt has allegedly lost Rs 17.97 lakh after being targeted by fraudsters posing as foreign nationals on matrimonial websites.
Police said between July 27 and Sept 29, the victim allegedly transferred a total of Rs 17.97 lakh.
She had created profiles on Jeevansathi.com and BharatMatrimony.com while looking for a partner, according to the woman. The accused allegedly told her that various payments were required to release or transfer the money to India, citing SWIFT activation fees, service charges, RBI tax clearance, customs charges and international wire fees. The South Cyber Cell police registered an FIR and are looking for two unknown callers who posed as NRIs and duped her. Between July and Sept, she came in contact with two men, identified as Sunil Singh and Vishal Agarwal, who allegedly claimed to be residents of the UK and Canada respectively. He allegedly sent forged documents purportedly issued by CBI, Supreme Court, Delhi Police, Delhi High Court and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to convince her that the transactions were genuine. The second accused, Vishal Agarwal, whom she met through BharatMatrimony, allegedly followed a similar modus operandi and claimed to be a Canadian resident. The woman alleged that both accused induced her to transfer money to different bank accounts by promising marriage and claiming that money and gifts had been sent to her. The South Cyber police have registered an FIR against the persons using the WhatsApp numbers and email address mentioned in the complaint, as well as the holders of the beneficiary bank accounts to which the money was transferred.