Hyderabad:A man lost Rs 1,19,500 to a fraudster, who sought money from him by impersonating himself as his brother-in-law. As the fraudsters had the same display picture as his brother-in-law, the victim transferred money without verifying the authenticity of the message personally.
According to a complaint lodged by the victim’s wife with Cybercrime sleuths on his behalf, the victim received a Facebook message from a mobile number. The message showed the WhatsApp display picture of his brother-in-law who is currently residing in Saudi Arabia. Believing the sender of the message to be his brother-in-law, he engaged in a conversation with the impersonator.
The impersonator asked him to transfer money, promising to send it back through Western Union Money Transfer. He also sent a fake Western Union transfer slip, which stated that the money would reflect in the bank account within 24 hours.
Later, the fraudster reached out to the victim again and claimed that he was stranded at the embassy due to an expired visa. He shared the number of a so-called agent and asked for an urgent payment for visa renewal. The victim trusted the scammer’s story and transferred multiple amounts.
