Deaf and mute man loses Rs 1.38 lakh to cyber fraud

The fraudsters claimed that she was stuck at the airport with a cheque of £ 60,000 and asked the victim to deposit Rs 49,000 in her account to get the amount released

There seems to be no barriers for cyber fraudsters who recently duped a hearing impaired person of Rs 1.38 lakh. The fraudsters befriended with the victim on Instagram and lured him into the trap, said the police.

The 37-year-old victim teaches Indian sign languages at Ali Yavar Jung National Institute in Bandra. On March 12, a woman who goes by name Gift Williams, befriended with him on Instagram and soon both shared their mobile numbers and started chatting with each other on WhatsApp.

A week later, the woman claimed that she would soon come to India for 10 days on holidays and shared a photograph of her purported flight ticket from London to Delhi. The next day she shared her photographs seating inside the plane awaiting 'departure' to make the victim believe her con.

She was to land in India on March 22, when she sent a message to the victim asking for help. She claimed that she was stuck at the airport and was carrying a cheque of £ 60,000 which amounts to Rs 61 lakh. She pretended that of the said money she she would deposit Rs 59 lakh into victims account and requested him to send her Rs 49, 000. Unaware of any foul play, the victim sent the money.

Later, the she took Rs 30, 000 on the pretext of hotel stay and another Rs 15, 000 for her food expenses. The fraudster then claimed that she was not feeling well and took Rs 30, 000 for her hospital expenses and another Rs 12, 000 for flight ticket from Delhi to Mumbai. Her last message to the victim was sent last Tuesday, when she claimed that she was boarding a flight to Mumbai and blocked his number, their entire conversation took place through text messages, the police said.

The victim initially did not realise that he was duped. However, when he narrated the incident to his translatorm, she told him that he had been cheated all along. The victim then approached the Bandra police, which recorded his statement with the help of a translator.