Woman poses as US official, dupes Gurugram man of over Rs 1.24 cr

Gurugram, Sep 13 (IANS) A 60-year-old man in Gurugram was duped of over Rs 1.24 crore by a woman fraudster posing as a US Army "Anti-Terrorist Department" official, police said on Sunday.According to the police, complainant Dhirendra Kumar, a resident of Maruti Vihar of Chakkarpur village in Gurugram, received a WhatsApp message from a woman named Poonam Makela.The woman told him that she was working in the Army Anti-Terrorist Department in the US, and later, they exchanged phone numbers."The woman told me that she wanted to open a medicine company in India and for this, she is sending around $8.7 million dollars to me. Later, from June 19 to July 17, 2020, I received multiple calls from someone who claimed he was a customs official and said that I have got a box from the US and have to deposit money to get it. I then deposited the amount through an online platform," the victim said in his police complaint."In connection with the matter, an FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the IT Act at Cyber Crime police station. Further probe into the matter is on," said Subhash Boken, spokesperson of the Gurugram police.
--IANS str/sdr/vd