A doctor from Gandhinagar has filed a police complaint alleging that a woman claiming to be from Scotland befriended the doctor online and then played to be in distress to extract Rs 89,000 at the airport customs.
On Saturday, Dr Prashant Chauhan filed a complaint with Mansa police. He informed authorities that the woman and her colleagues conned him by giving a fake promise of transferring $50,000 into his account.
In August 2020, Chauhan, a resident of Stuti Green Bungalows in Ranasan, alleged in his FIR that a lady posing as Jessica Thompson sent him a friend request on Facebook.
He replied and accepted the offer, and the two began conversing. Thompson told Chauhan during one of the discussions that she would travel from Scotland to meet him, according to Chauhan. By that time, the two had swapped phone numbers.
Thompson sent Chauhan a WhatsApp message on June 15, 2021, informing him that she will be traveling to India on June 21. She sent him photos purporting to be of her flight tickets.
Thompson texted Chauhan at 12:15 a.m. on June 21 to say she had arrived at Mumbai International Airport. A woman introduced herself as a customs official and called Chauhan after a bit. Thompson was apprehended with a $50,000 demand draft, she informed Chauhan. She informed him that he would be required to pay a fine of Rs 39,900 in order to have Thompson released from the customs agency’s custody. To save Thompson, Chauhan transferred the funds to a Mumbai-based account controlled by Joyan Rolangul.
Thompson had been permitted to leave the airport, the woman informed Chauhan shortly afterward.
Later that day, a man posing as a Royal Bank of Scotland representative contacted Chauhan and informed him that Thompson wanted to transfer a $50,000 into his account. According to the man, Chauhan was required to pay Rs 3.47 lakh in taxes in order for the money to be deposited.
Chauhan informed the man that he lacked the necessary funds but after some wrangling, he was persuaded to pay Rs 50,000. As instructed, he deposited the funds to a Delhi account.
Chauhan’s friend, who had apparently traveled all the way from Scotland to meet him, remained unresponsive. It then occurred to the medic that he had been duped. The woman and her accomplices, who have yet to be named, have been charged with defrauding and breach of trust, and police have invoked the provisions of the Information Technology Act against them.
