2 Nigerians held for UK lottery scam
The crime branch's property cell booked the Nigerians under various sections for cheating, forgery, breach of trust, and under the Information Technology Act. The police seized 11 cell phones and sim cards, procured on fake documents.
A fresh complainant in the case was filed by a young housewife from Mahim, whose husband works abroad. The victim got an email informing her that she had won a lottery of Rs 3.5 crore, including a car, and told her to send her address and bank account details in January.
She was told to deposit Rs 4 lakh as processing fees, which would go to the UK government, for releasing the money. Later, the accused sent a nationalised bank's debit card in her name, claiming the money had been transferred to the account and the password would be sent soon. They told her to deposit another Rs 4 lakh. She was then told to deposit the remaining amount for stamp duty, revenue and customs duty.
"The scamsters sent so many emails with fake UK certificates and other documents that she believed them and deposited Rs 11.50 lakh in six months,'' said senior inspector Nandkumar Gopale.
A team led by inspector Nitin Patil, Dilip Phoolpagare and Laxmikant Salunke detained Effe and Emmanual after laying a trap for them for two days near Pimple, Pune. The police are taking the help of a mobile service provider for a list of the victims and the accomplices of the accused.
The police said investigations showed they had sent emails to many in Pune, Bangalore and Delhi. "They sent text messages and emails to hundreds of people, expecting some at least would fall prey to their scam,'' said Gopale.
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