Bengaluru couple fall prey to online lottery scam, lose Rs 1.3 crore

This is one of the biggest losses suffered by a Bengalurean in an online scam, the city police say.
Bengaluru couple fall prey to online lottery scam, lose Rs 1.3 crore
Bengaluru couple fall prey to online lottery scam, lose Rs 1.3 crore
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A Bengaluru couple fell prey to a notorious online lottery scam and it has cost them Rs 1.3 crore.

A retired agricultural scientist with the GKVK University of Agricultural Sciences fell prey to an online quiz in 2014. He started paying huge sums of money to claim a Rs 5 crore prize, however, he died in December 2014 but his wife continued to make payments till mid-2017, the Times of India reported.

This is one of the biggest losses suffered by a Bengalurean in an online scam, the city police said.

The 52-year-old wife of the deceased scientist from Allalasandra approached the Cyber Crime Police Station last week and filed a complaint alleging that her husband had participated in an online quiz in January 2014, which has now cost her dearly.

“The day after the complaint was filed, the man received a call from a man claiming to be from the Shell Oil company in the UK. The fraudster told the man that he would come down to Bengaluru personally to deliver the prize money, as it is a huge sum. He also told the scientist that a fee would have to be paid as customs procedure and RBI sanctions,” the police added.

According to the police, the late scientist had transferred huge sums of money to various bank accounts through online transactions until his death in December 2014.

“According to the complaint filed by the woman, he had given away his entire savings and had even pledged his life insurance policy on loans to get his lottery money,” the police added.

After the scientist had passed away, a call came through his cellphone and his wife picked up. She was informed that her husband had won a lottery and she could claim the money instead of him. His wife too, fell for the same trick and transferred huge sums various bank accounts till May 2017.

In May, a man named Howard Jerry told her that he would drop off the money to her home in Allasandra after she transferred Rs 6.5 lakh. Having sent so much money, the woman became suspicious and realised that she and her late husband had been cheated of their hard-earned savings. She filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime Police station on July 11. A case has been filed against unidentified persons under the IT Act.

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