Scammer pretending to be from the UK befriends Kerala woman on Facebook, then dupes her of 8 lakh rupees

By Ankita ChakravartiFacebook is a great social media platform to connect with friends but you should be extremely careful about who you befriends on the platform. Recently, a Kerala-based woman lost Rs 8 lakh and the reason was her Facebook friend.

As per the Manorama, an accountant working at a sweet shop in Kasaragod, Kerala fell victim to a scam and lost around Rs 8 lakh. It all started when she received a Facebook friend request from someone claiming to be a friend from the UK. The person introduced himself as ‘Dr. Kennedy Nick Moores’ and said they wanted to send her an expensive gift.

After a few weeks of chatting, the person asked for her postal address to send the gift. She hesitated at first but eventually gave her address. A few days later, she received a call from someone claiming to be from a courier company called Perfect Cargo. They said she needed to pay Rs 25,400 to receive the gift.

She checked the company’s name on Google and it seemed legitimate, so she believed it. She contacted the person on Facebook and told them to pay for the delivery themselves. However, they got angry and insisted she pay the amount.

The person from the courier company called again and said the package was now with the Income Tax Department because they found a large amount of money hidden inside. They asked her to pay Rs 87,000 to get a court order and release the money. The person on Facebook told her to ignore the package if she didn’t want the money, but she fell for the trap and paid the amount.

The scam continued as the person from the courier company asked for more money, claiming she needed a NOC from the Income Tax Department. They asked her to send an additional Rs 2.17 lakh. She didn’t have that much money, so she borrowed from her relatives and sent the amount.

The person from the courier company then asked for Rs 4.73 lakh to cover up the illegality of sending such a large sum of cash. They promised it would be the last time they asked for money and assured her that she would get all her money back. She borrowed more money and transferred the amount as instructed.

However, when she called the person from the courier company to inquire about her money, they asked for an additional Rs 67,000. It was at this point that she realized she had been cheated.

She contacted the person on Facebook, but they replied with a dismissive message, saying they didn’t want to be disturbed and didn’t care about her feelings.

This incident serves as a cautionary tale for others to be aware of online scams and not to trust strangers, even if they seem friendly. It’s important to verify the authenticity of any requests for money and to be cautious when sharing personal information online.