'London Tourist', 95,000 Pounds Promise: Gwalior Man Duped Of Rs 1.23 Lakh

A supposed London tourist, promises of British pounds and a few WhatsApp chats later, a contractor in Gwalior found himself allegedly duped of Rs 1.23 lakh in a cyber fraud.

According to police, Kamalkant Yadav, a contractor from Harishankarpuram locality, was targeted by fraudsters posing as a foreign woman on Facebook.

Investigators said the accused first introduced herself as "Lucky Charles" before later continuing conversations under the name "Dr Patricia".

Police said the interaction began on April 24.

The woman allegedly claimed she lived in London and planned to visit India carrying 95,000 British pounds, worth around Rs 1.22 crore.

She reportedly told Yadav she needed help converting the money into Indian currency and hinted that he would receive commissions and expensive gifts in return.

According to police, the fraud escalated on April 27 when Yadav received a call from another woman posing as an official from Mumbai Airport.

The caller allegedly claimed customs clearance and registration fees had to be paid before the foreign currency could be released.

Believing the claims, Yadav first transferred Rs 38,500 as a "registration fee".

Police said he was later persuaded to transfer more money under additional procedural charges, eventually paying Rs 1.23 lakh into multiple bank accounts.

The complainant reportedly realised something was wrong only after the accused demanded another Rs 70,000.

He then contacted the cyber helpline 1930 and filed a complaint.

Based on the complaint, Jhansi Road Police Station registered an E-Zero FIR against unidentified accused persons and launched an investigation.

Inspector Shakti Singh said, "The complainant stated that during a Facebook chat, a woman claimed she wanted to visit India from abroad as a tourist. Communication continued regularly, and she subsequently defrauded him of Rs 1.23 lakh through bank transfers. A case has been registered, and an investigation is underway."