Hyderabad: Cyber crooks targeted a pastor from the city and collected Rs 5 lakh from him for multiple clearances from government agencies to release a gift parcel from abroad.
The pastor lodged a complaint stating that a woman whom he met on social media (Facebook) cheated him for Rs 5 lakh. The pastor and the woman, who claimed to be from the US, had some conversation on the social media platform for some time and that is when she told him that her mother passed away and she had huge debts.
According to the report published in the DC, he told her that he would perform some prayers for her prosperity. later after some weeks, the woman messaged him that her problems had been solved and she sent him a gift as a token of gratitude.
The pastor received a call from another stranger who claimed to be a customs official informing that he received a parcel from abroad containing huge amounts of dollars, for which he has to pay taxes to release the gift parcel, said the police.
“Believing the caller, the victim transferred about Rs 5 lakh into the bank accounts provided to him. As calls were later unattended and the Facebook friend also stopped responding, he realised cheating and lodged a complaint,” said Rachakonda cybercrime ACP S Harinath.