Man duped of Rs 83 lakh by 'Facebook friend'

A man from north Kashmir has allegedly been duped of Rs 83 lakh by a woman who befriended him through Facebook, a spokesman of the Crime Branch said on Tuesday.

He said the victim is a resident of Kreeri village of Baramulla and recently lodged the complaint with the crime branch.

The spokesperson said initial inquiry revealed that the complainant's Facebook friend, identified as Rose Darbo, who claimed to be from Liberia and currently living in Refugee camp in Senegal, induced him on the pretext that her father had died and left USD 3.5 million which she wanted to transfer into his account for providing assistance to poor and needy people in the valley.

The woman cited different charges and duties for transferring of that amount into his bank account and induced him to deposit amounts ranging from Rs 45,000 to Rs 7 lakh in different account numbers maintained in different names in various banks across India, the spokesman said.

He said the man was duped of a total of Rs 83 lakh in a fraudulent and dishonest manner.

A case under sections of the Ranbir Penal Code and the Information Technology Act was registered following a preliminary investigation, the spokesman said.