Five foreign nationals arrested for catfishing Hyderabad men, duping them of lakhs

Five foreign nationals were arrested by the Rachakonda police for pretending to be women and duping men over Facebook. The men were also impersonating customs officials to siphon off lakhs. The Rachakonda police in November 2020 received a complaint from a man who said that he had befriended a woman named Sophia Alex over Facebook and communicated WhatsApp and phone calls, in a fraud that is called catfishing.

The victim was tricked into believing that Sophia Alex was brought up in Australia, had a daughter and resided in London, UK. The victim was told that Sophia had arrived in Mumbai and will visit Hyderabad to meet him. However, the victim later received a phone call from one of the fraudsters pretending to be a woman customs official. The victim was tricked into believing that Sophia had brought with her 75,000 pounds in cash, gold chains and mobile phones for which was caught by customs. The fake customs official sought money from the victim to get Sophia’s money and gold released by customs.

The Hyderabad man shelled out Rs 4.83 lakh over multiple transactions before realising that he was taken for a ride by fraudsters. He then approached the Rachakonda Cybercrime police on November 28 seeking action.

The Rachakonda police traced the fraudsters to Delhi. A team of police officers raised the premises and arrested five men Akpalu Godstime a native of Republic of Ghana, Adjel Gift Osas and P Kromah Oyibo N natives of Republic of Liberia, P Ehigiator Daniel and Nkeki Confidence David natives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Rachakonda police have named Akpalu Godstime as the mastermind behind the cybercrime, the one who assigned roles and tasks for each gang member. Police say it was Akpalu who contacted the victim under the disguise of Sopha Alex.

The gang had created several fake Facebook profiles and had duped several men across the country. The police identified three other cases that were registered with the Hyderabad cyber crime police against the gang and suspect more cases to surface. The gang after duping their victims destroyed the SIM cards.

The gang was operating out of a rented apartment in Delhi and were found using the Dingtone app to display their calls as coming from a foreign country. They procured an internet connection using fake documents, say police. Police found Adjel Gift Osas living in India on an expired visa, the third accused Nkeki Confidence David helped the gang procure SIM cards using fake IDs.

Police say the fourth accused in the case, Kromah Oyibo is good at impersonating an Indian accent over the phone and pretending to be a customs officer. His task in the gang was to convince the victims to part with their money. The fifth accused in the case Ehigiator Daniel had arrived in India on a medical visa for his Arthritis but helped the gang by procuring bank accounts of unknown persons who let the gang use their bank accounts on a commission basis. The fraudsters used the money to live a lavish style, organising parties at their home which was designed as a nightclub. All the five accused have been sent on judicial remand.

The police have booked the men under section 417 cheating, Section 419 for impersonation, 420 for heating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property under the Indian Penal Code and under sections of the IT Act.