Mumbai: VFX artist duped of Rs 5.10 lakh in ‘gift fraud’

The fraud started when the victim received a friend request from a man named Amarpreet Singh on a social media platform in August. Representation Pic

A 28-year-old VFX artist, who works in animated and Bollywood movies, was duped of Rs 5.10 lakh in a gift fraud. It took her over a month to realise that she had been cheated, after which she approached the Malad police on Thursday to lodge an FIR.

The fraud started when the victim, a resident of the Chincholibunder area, Malad West, received a friend request from a man named Amarpreet Singh on a social media platform in August. Singh's profile indicated that he was settled in the United Kingdom, which led her to accept his request. The two began chatting and eventually exchanged mobile numbers.

A few days later, Singh called her, offering a job in the UK and even proposing marriage. He claimed he would begin the visa process to help her move to the UK. On August 7, Singh informed her that he had sent a gift worth Rs 90 lakh, which would arrive the next day.

On August 9, she received a call from a man claiming to be from the airport's parcel department. He informed her that she needed to pay Rs 9 lakh as tax to claim the gift. The victim did not make the payment immediately. However, on August 11, she received another call from someone claiming to be from the Income Tax Department, warning her that if she did not pay the tax, the parcel would be seized. Under pressure, she transferred Rs 5.10 lakh to the bank account provided by the caller.

On September 9, she received another call asking her to make the remaining payment. Not having enough money, she turned to her sister-in-law for a loan. When her sister-in-law inquired about the reason for the large sum, the victim disclosed the situation and was told that she had fallen victim to a scam. "We have registered a case against the unidentified fraudster and are investigating the bank account transactions made by the victim," said an officer from the Malad police station. The police are currently tracking the financial trail to identify the fraudsters.