Gujarati Businessman Scammed of Rs 95 Lakh After Accepting Facebook Friend Request

Cyber scams are becoming more widespread, with a growing number of individuals falling victim to them. A man claimed that he lost lakhs of rupees after befriending a woman on Facebook. The Gujarati businessman reportedly lost Rs 95 lakh in total to a scam.

A resident of Alkapuri, Parag Desai, complained to the Cyber Crime Police Station after falling victim to a scam, as reported by the Times of India (TOI). He explained to the police that he had received a friend request from a woman named Steff Mhiz on Facebook last year in October, which he accepted.

They later moved their conversations to WhatsApp. According to the outlet, Desai’s friend suggested that he purchase herbal goods from India for Rs 1 lakh apiece and sell them to Mhiz’s firm for Rs 2 lakh.

Once Desai consented, she urged him to get in touch with someone named Dr Virendra to obtain the items. Dr Virendra and Desai communicated by email.

He paid Rs 1 lakh and received a sample packet following their online chat. The box came on schedule, but Desai did not open it.

As the publication stated, he instead ordered more orders.

Desai allegedly continued to give money to Dr Virendra after that in several accounts per his instructions. When Virendra persisted in requesting more money under fictitious pretences, he became sceptical.

According to TOI, when he didn’t get the promised sum, Desai urged Dr Virendra to call off the agreement and give him his money back.

But since then, neither Dr Virendra nor the woman have been in contact.

To his surprise, there were no herbal items within the packages when he finally opened them.

According to TOI, they were packed with fried chips and powder.

Meanwhile, on February 6, the Ministry of Home Affairs released a report claiming that Indians lost Rs 7,488.6 crore to online scams in 2023.

Highlighting the pervasive nature of cybercrime in the country, Maharashtra tops the pack with losses of Rs 990.7 crore, followed by Telangana with Rs 759.1 crore.

The home ministry went on to say that 11,28,265 complaints were received by the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting Management System in the previous year.