Woman cheated in the name of ‘Valentine’s Day’ gift, lost Rs 3.68 lakh

Mumbai A 51-year-old Mumbai woman was duped of Rs 3.68 lakh by a man on social media on the pretext of sending a gift on Valentine’s Day. A police officer gave this information on Monday. An official of Khar police station said that the married woman had befriended a man named Alex Lorenzo on Instagram last Wednesday. He quoted the complainant as saying that the man later told the woman that he had sent her a Valentine’s Day gift for which she would have to pay a fee of 750 euros after receiving the parcel.

Later, the woman received a message from a courier company that they would have to pay an additional charge of Rs 72,000 as the parcel was heavier than the permissible limit, which the woman paid, the official said. The representatives of the purported courier company contacted the woman again and said that they had received the European currency in the parcel and she would have to pay Rs 2,65,000 to avoid money laundering charges, they said. The woman again paid the amount, the officer said.

However, when the woman was again asked to pay Rs 98,000 to receive the parcel sent by the man, she became suspicious. The officer said that when she stopped paying the amount, Lorenzo started threatening her saying that he would post her pictures on social media and also share them with her family members. The woman later lodged a complaint with the Khar police station. Police have started investigation in this matter by registering an FIR against unknown people.

Disclaimer:Prabhasakshi has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.