PANJIM: The Cyber Crime Cell sleuths have taken into custody a 36-year-old woman for duping Goan boys working abroad through social networking sites. The accused whose identity has been withheld for the purpose of investigation has cheated five gullible NRIs to the tune of more than Rs 5 lakh.
As per preliminary investigation, the woman created a fake profile account on Facebook and developed friendship with local boys who were employed in different parts of the world. She would identify herself as a 21-year-old nurse working in the Goa Medical College and Hospital. To gain sympathy, which was meant to later extort money from them, she claimed she lived with her widowed mother, who often fell sick.
“…as friendship developed, she used to make a story that her mother suddenly got ill and is being taken to Bombay for emergency medical treatment…. She would then lie that doctors advised for emergency operation but was running out of cash. It was at this time that she asked the boys to transfer money to her cousin’s bank account with a promise to return soon,” an officer disclosed.
In this way, she cheated one Jovino – employed in Dubai of Rs 4.15 lakh and Seby of Rs 50,000. Investigation further revealed that while Jovino transferred cash on three occasions and had once even personally handed over the money through his brother in Goa.
Seby was in the process of transferring additional money when cybercrime police intervened. Her modus operandi was exposed when a girl complained to the cell that unidentified miscreant had created a fake profile account and was misusing it. “A trap was laid and she was arrested. We found that she had not only created fake profile but had also made up a false story. Moreover, she never travelled to Mumbai and the cousin to whom the money was transferred was in fact herself though the bank account was created using her correct ID,” the officer said.
The investigating team has seized three mobile phones, one laptop, one tab, two wireless routers and cash of Rs 38,000.
