HYDERABAD: A large number of
online fraud
cases, including job fraud and matrimony frauds, are being reported in the city, but less than 15% of the total cheated money is recovered from the accused.
Of the 47 online fraud cases registered till June this year, 80% of fraudsters were found to be Nigerians. Most of them were caught from Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.
In one such case, a woman lost all her savings after being cheated by a Nigerian, who pretended to be an NRI based out of UK. The victim, Jaya, lost close to Rs 4 lakh. She met Gaurav (name changed) on a matrimony portal and soon the two started chatting on WhatsApp and also started talking over the phone.
After a few days, Jaya received a call asking her to transfer money to secure Gaurav’s release. The caller claimed to be from customs department and said that Gaurav, who was visiting India, was caught for carrying hard cash. Jaya paid the money for his release, however Gaurav never called her back.
Later, the police arrested the accused Nigerian, who was impersonating to be an NRI, and was talking to Jaya. However, none of the cash was recovered. “He had already spent the money by that time,” police said.
“The accused either transfer the money to their home town or buy items immediately. It is very difficult to recover the money from their possession,” said S Harinath, ACP (cybercrime), Rachakonda.
In cases of job frauds, the accused promise to provide jobs in MNCs and collect huge amount of money starting from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 12 lakh. “Most Nigerians involved in cheating cases, like matrimony frauds, job frauds and OLX frauds, are caught from Mumbai and Bangalore. There have been instances when only a computer is found from their accommodation,” a police source said.
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