61-year-old woman cheated of Rs 2 crore

A fraudster posing as a pilot in the British Airways duped a 61-year-old woman of over Rs 2 crore after befriending her on Instagram.

She was allegedly asked to pay for Customs clearance on the pretext of receiving expensive gifts and dollars. For the payment, the woman not only borrowed money from relatives, but also took a loan and sold a plot. An FIR has been registered at the cybercrime police station, Manesar, said the police.

Sunita Kapagunta, a resident of Sector 86, said in December, she received a request from ‘AlexWilli285’ on Instagram, who asked for her personal contact number.

“The user approached me saying he worked as a pilot with the British Airways. On December 5, he said he was sending me a surprise package with gift items like an iPhone, artificial jewellery, a watch and other accessories. He said the package, coming from Dubai, also contained cash and asked for my address and phone number and that he would send it to me if I paid Rs 35,000. I paid the amount. Then I received a call from someone posing as an official of the airport authority. He said I must pay a penalty of Rs 1 lakh. The accused asked me to follow the instructions and pay the penalty. I was promised that I would get my money back. I was forced to transfer Rs 95,000. He called again and asked me to pay another Rs 2 lakh for a certificate required to exchange currency from USD to INR, which I did,” the woman said in her complaint.