Pune: An engineer (29) from Wadgaonsheri lost Rs5.88 lakh after a man she met on a matrimonial website claimed to have sent her a parcel containing jewellery and cash from abroad, and got her to make multiple payments towards customs duty, insurance and other charges between Aug 3 and Aug 20.The woman lodged a complaint with the Chandannagar police on Thursday. An officer from the Chandannagar police said she worked for a software company in Pune. She registered on a matrimonial website in Jan. In July, she received a request from a man claiming to be from Belgium. The two started communicating, and the man told her that he planned to settle in Pune.Later, the accused told the woman that he was travelling from Vietnam to Pune and had sent his luggage. She allegedly received an email from an address associated with a courier company on Aug 3, informing her that the parcel had arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport and that Rs76,999 had to be paid as import duty clearance charges. “When the woman told the man about the parcel, the latter told her that it contained jewellery and US$80,000. He also claimed that he had paid the charges and that she would have to make further payments to the courier company as he was travelling,” the officer said.He said the woman subsequently made several online payments after receiving emails demanding money towards insurance, duty stamps, conversion of US dollars into Indian currency, GST and other charges. “She made 15 transactions between Aug 3 and Aug 20, totalling Rs5,87,999,” the officer said.He said the woman received another message on Aug 21 claiming that the man had been detained because he did not have bills for the jewellery in his luggage and another Rs1 lakh was required as a fee. During a subsequent call, the complainant realised that a woman was posing as an officer and speaking to her in English. “The complainant became suspicious after the bogus officer refused to speak in Hindi and abruptly disconnected the call. She then realised that she had been cheated and approached the police,” the officer said.
