Vizag: Techie duped of Rs 28 lakh by cyber scammers

Visakhapatnam: An engineering graduate was robbed of Rs 28 lakh by cyber crooks in Visakhapatnam. On a complaint, Vizag city police arrested one of a three-member gang who had cheated young men from the city on the pretext of online friendship and dating. The accused was identified as Kommagoni Lokesh, 25, a native of Narketpalli in Nalgonda district of Telangana.

The police launched a hunt for two others P Sai Dheeraj and Maikol Shalini, both residents of Hyderabad. Inspector of cybercrimes police station K Bhavani Prasad said an unmarried mechanical engineer from Vizag city was the latest victim in the online dating scam as he lost over Rs 28 lakh. Bhavani Prasad said a dating scam was a new type of cyber fraud where cyber crooks create fake profiles on dating websites or apps to develop romantic relationships with gullible ones.

The main purpose of these scammers is to exploit the victim’s emotions and trust to extort money or personal information.

Explaining the modus operandi of the fraudsters, the police said that fraudsters create fake profiles on dating apps and websites. The profiles feature attractive women photos to lure the gullible ones. Once a contact is established with the potential victims, the imposter engages in frequent and intimate communication to build trust and emotional connection with them. Thereafter, the cyber crooks devise a fascinating story to seek money. After the extortion of the money, the fraudsters begin blackmailing the victim by using personal information and compromising photos shared during the relationship.