Bengaluru: A techie was conned of nearly Rs. 1.5 lakh by his ‘Facebook friend’ who had promised him ‘valuable merchandise’ on transferring the money to her account.
According to a complaint filed with the Hulimavu police, 40-year-old Govind Sharma works in a software firm in Bengaluru. He had befriended ‘Alex’ after she sent him a friend request on the social networking site nearly four months ago.
The two even exchanged phone numbers, said the police. Gradually, Alex won his confidence. In the subsequent weeks, she told Mr. Sharma that she lived in Dubai and wanted to come to Bengaluru with some expensive merchandise. The techie, who lives in an apartment in Gottigere, was to get a portion of the merchandise as a ‘token of friendship’, said the police.
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A few weeks ago, Mr. Sharma got a phone call from the woman out of the blue. She claimed that she was in Kempegowda International Airport and had been stopped by customs officials. Claiming that she did not have the money to bribe them, she sought financial help from Mr. Sharma.
Over the next few weeks, Mr. Sharma transferred Rs. 1.4 lakh to a bank account on the instructions of the woman. However, Mr. Sharma smelled a rat when the woman’s phone was switched off and she did not respond to his messages. Sharma lodged a cheating complaint on Friday.
“We are trying to trace her number and obtain details of the bank account,” said a senior police officer.
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