Panaji : Goan women watch out, smooth-talking cyber scamsters are increasingly targeting single women with the aim of cheating them out of large sums of money. The modus operandi that sees these conmen gaining the confidence of gullible women on social networking sites has seen 40 women cheated out of a total sum of 1.10crore
Since 2014, the cyber cell of Goa has registered cases involving women of the state being cheated out of their money over promise of marriage, gifts, jobs, and lottery prizes. Nine cases were registered in 2014, 11 in 2015, and 20 till date in 2016.
Of the 40 cases, 32 are pending investigation, two are pending trial and six have been sent for closure due to lack of evidence.
Explaining the strategy employed by the scamsters, a senior officer at the cyber crime cell said the accused research targets on social networking sites like Facebook before getting in touch with them. "Once they know that their 'targets' are lonely, they proceed to work on them emotionally," the officer said.
In one such case, an unknown person cheated a woman from Panaji of approximately 9 lakh under the pretext of marrying her. The accused and victim met on a social networking site and grew close. Later, the accused started demanding money from the victim for various reasons and asked her to deposit the same in different banks.
This month, the cyber crime cell booked one Oliver Philip for cheating a housewife from Colvale, Bardez, to the tune of 5.67 lakh. The accused and the housewife initially met on Facebook. The complainant said the accused had promised to send her a gift on her wedding anniversary and then asked her to deposit money towards various fees and charges, in Anuj Kumar Ram's bank account, as the gift was stuck at customs.
In another incident, a lady from Ponda was duped of 3 lakh under the pretext of getting a job in the US. Police said the accused contacted the victim after stealing data from job portals. The accused promised her a job in a pharmaceutical company in the US and then asked her to deposit 13 lakh in a bank account as fees.
TOI Goa News
Since 2014, the cyber cell of Goa has registered cases involving women of the state being cheated out of their money over promise of marriage, gifts, jobs, and lottery prizes. Nine cases were registered in 2014, 11 in 2015, and 20 till date in 2016.
Of the 40 cases, 32 are pending investigation, two are pending trial and six have been sent for closure due to lack of evidence.
Explaining the strategy employed by the scamsters, a senior officer at the cyber crime cell said the accused research targets on social networking sites like Facebook before getting in touch with them. "Once they know that their 'targets' are lonely, they proceed to work on them emotionally," the officer said.
In one such case, an unknown person cheated a woman from Panaji of approximately 9 lakh under the pretext of marrying her. The accused and victim met on a social networking site and grew close. Later, the accused started demanding money from the victim for various reasons and asked her to deposit the same in different banks.
This month, the cyber crime cell booked one Oliver Philip for cheating a housewife from Colvale, Bardez, to the tune of 5.67 lakh. The accused and the housewife initially met on Facebook. The complainant said the accused had promised to send her a gift on her wedding anniversary and then asked her to deposit money towards various fees and charges, in Anuj Kumar Ram's bank account, as the gift was stuck at customs.
In another incident, a lady from Ponda was duped of 3 lakh under the pretext of getting a job in the US. Police said the accused contacted the victim after stealing data from job portals. The accused promised her a job in a pharmaceutical company in the US and then asked her to deposit 13 lakh in a bank account as fees.
TOI Goa News
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