Two women lose Rs 13 lakh to online fraudsters in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Two women from Whitefield area were conned by miscreants who befriended them on social media recently. While one woman fell for the offer of ‘costly gifts’, another lost money while trying to ‘help’ her online friend’s relative.
Suma (name changed), 30, from Shantiniketan Layout near Whitefield posted her profile on a matrimonial site on March 24. A person identifying himself as Siddartha Prakash expressed his interest to marry her.
Both shared their mobile numbers and were in constant touch. On April 4, Prakash sought Suma’s help claiming his relative had fallen ill in India. She trusted him and transferred Rs 7.7 lakh to a bank account he had shared with her. After that Prakash went incommunicado and Suma realised that she had been cheated. Whitefield CEN Crime police have taken up a case.
In the other incident, 31-year-old Rama (name changed) lost Rs 5 lakh while trying to collect a gift sent by a social media friend who identified himself as Jordan Milot. Within a few weeks of them becoming friends, Milot, who claimed to be a pilot with an airline in France, told Rama he had sent her a diamond ring, two i-Phones and $50,000 .
She received a call on June 15, and the caller introduced herself as Anita, a customs official at Delhi airport and asked her to pay various fees to claim the gifts sent by Milot. Rama transferred Rs 5 lakh to multiple bank accounts provided by Anita. When the gifts never arrived, Rama filed a police complaint.