A 24-year-old laboratory technician from Mumbai lost Rs 15 lakh of savings in a cyber fraud as she transferred money towards the "Customs clearance charges" for claiming the "gift parcels" sent by a man who claimed to be from Syria, police said on Sunday.
In a First Information Registered (FIR) registered on Saturday, the woman said the fraud has been going on since April.
The fraudster identified himself as one Smith working in a military camp in Syria when he contacted the woman on Instagram, a police official said.
"He told the woman that he would send all his savings and jewellery to her for safekeeping since he has no relatives there. The woman fell for the trick. The accused told her that she needs to pay Customs charges to claim the parcels containing cash and jewellery sent by him. The unsuspecting woman kept transferring the money," the official said.
She had transferred Rs 15 lakh to the bank account of the accused.
"The victim realised that she was cheated when the fraudster demanded additional Rs 10 lakh from her. Suspecting something was wrong, she asked the man to return all her money. However, he stopped replying," the official said.
A case has been registered against various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
India U19 Star, Who Got Called For CSK Trials, Says This On MS Dhoni Agni Teaser Out: Pratik Gandhi, Divyenndu Lead India’s First Firefighter Film Ex-MI Pacer Claims 10 Wickets In Single Innings Of Ranji Trophy, Creates History India's Most Advanced Satellite Launch From US Is Elon Musk's 'Trump' Card Video: Khalistan Extremists Target Canadians, Say "Go Back To UK, Europe" Video: Leopard Enters House In Rajasthan, Pounces On Pet Dog Bodies Of 3 Women Found In Manipur's Jiribam Amid Hostage Crisis: Sources Elon Musk's SpaceX Preparing To Launch Tender Offer In December: Report Amid Pollution Curbs, Staggered Timings For Delhi Government Offices Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.