Mangaluru: Ramesh (name changed), a divorced engineer here, was on cloud nine when he thought he’d found his life partner on a
matrimony site, but it all ended after she vanished after
cheating him of Rs 1.5 lakh.
There’s been a
spike in
online marriage frauds in Mangaluru and most these victims are educated netizens. At least 8 cases have been registered in the past six months.
Ramesh, 45, signed up on a community matrimony site and got in touch with a woman who claimed to be around 38 and a doctor working in the UK. She expressed a desire to marry him and settle in India after starting a medical centre. As the friendship grew stronger, she, as a token of friendship, told Ramesh she’d send some expensive gifts, including watches, perfume and bags. She added that in the parcel she had concealed about $10,000 to set up her centre in India. But there was a catch: she told him to pay only custom charges at the airport.
After a few days, Ramesh got calls from various people that he had received a parcel which had money. They said he had to pay money to get it released and if didn’t, he’d be arrested and branded a terrorist. Fearing a legal battle, he quickly transferred money via online transactions to some accounts. This continued for a few days and that’s when he realised he’d been cheated.
“There are a few persons like Ramesh who have been conned. Recently, a 50-year-old woman from Mangaluru lost about Rs 2 lakh and a man lost about Rs 12 lakh in similar cases. People have not been careful despite cautionary message from police, media and social media,” says Savithra Tej, who heads the cyber crime cell of Mangaluru City Police. “The number of cases is increasing by the day,” he added.
Police, who register such cases under the Information Technology Act and Indian Penal Code, reach out to their counterparts in cities where the bank accounts are located. “We tried to block the account so that we can recover the money. Those
scamsters quickly transfer a victim’s money to other accounts,” said an investigating officer, adding that they have managed to arrest some conmen.
Nigerians responsible
Calling it an organised racket, police said it was carried out by Nigerians who operate from various parts of the country as well as back home. “They purchase bank account of Indians, mostly from economically poor background, by giving them some money. They operate them via net banking and other methods,” said an investigating officer.
He added that most online banking scams take place on weekends as banks are closed.
