Doctor’s family duped of over ₹4 lakh

LUCKNOW: A Lucknow-based doctor’s family lost ₹4.1 lakh after falling into the trap of fraudsters who had created a fake profile on a popular matrimonial website. The ‘prospective groom’, supposedly living in London, told the family that he was sending them an expensive gift. Later, the family received a call from imposters, posing as customs officials, who fleeced them using the threat of a ‘terror funding case’ and ‘clearance charges’.

Inspector Gomti Nagar police station, Amit Kumar Dubey, said, “An FIR against matrimonial website shaadi.com and four persons was registered on Friday. The accused were booked under IPC sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 419 (impersonation) and 420 (fraud) as well as section 66 of the IT Act.” He said the complainant was a doctor residing in Viram Khand, Gomti Nagar.

The cop said that the family was looking for a groom for a woman member . “They came in contact with the imposter who had created a fake profile under the name ‘Rajiv Gumber’. The profile mentioned that Gumber was a Lucknow resident and employed in London,” said Dubey. He said the family was in touch with him for a few weeks through a chat app and the contact number that he had shared. “The fraudster told them on August 31 that he had sent a surprise gift for them and soon the courier service and custom officials would contact them for its clearance from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi,” said Dubey.

“The family then received a call from ‘Namita Sharma’ who said she was a customs official posted at Delhi airport. She threatened to book them in a terror funding case on September 2, saying that Gumber had sent them cash in the parcel. She asked them to get an ‘anti-terror certificate’ by making some payments to ‘authorised agents of the customs department’. She gave them bank account numbers in the names of Ankit Singh and Krishna,” he said.

The family transferred ₹ 4.1 lakh in four instalments from September 2 to 6 for different purposes as directed by the fake customs officer. “They got suspicious when the caller again demanded ₹85,000 on September 7. Then they contacted customs officials in Delhi and realised they had been duped.”