Facebook Friendship Costs Gorakhpur Man Rs 15.20 Lakh 'Cyber Fraud'

A Facebook friendship turned costly for a man from Gorakhpur's Khajni area after cyber fraudsters allegedly duped him of Rs 15.20 lakh by claiming that a woman's luggage had been detained at Delhi airport, police said on Tuesday.

Indralal Jaiswal, a resident of Khoria alias Bhiti village, approached police after realising that he had been cheated. An FIR has been registered against an unidentified woman and the case is being investigated with the help of the cybercrime cell, police said.

According to Jaiswal's



complaint, he became friends on Facebook with a woman who introduced herself as Charlotte Olivia and claimed to be a US resident working in Syria. During their conversations, she allegedly told him that she wanted to visit India.

Later, the woman claimed that she had reached Delhi airport but that officials had detained her luggage and demanded money for its release. Believing her claims, Jaiswal transferred Rs 15,20,399 from his SBI account through the bank's app to several bank accounts provided by the woman, according to the complaint.