Nagpur: A cybercriminal in Nagpur tried to scam a friend of a police officer by offering him a cheap deal on high-end furniture from the officer's friend's house. However, the criminal's plan backfired when he made a small mistake.
The criminal created a fake Facebook profile in the name of police officer Amitesh Kumar who had recently transferred to Mumbai. The criminal then sent a friend request to the officer's friend, who was already a Facebook friend of the officer.
The fake message read: "My friend Santosh Kumar is in CRPF. His transfer is done and he wants to sell the good quality furniture that was used in his house. He is willing to sell it at a very cheap price. If you are interested, let me know."
The officer's friend was suspicious of the message because he knew that there was no Santosh Kumar in CRPF in Nagpur. He also knew that no officer had recently transferred out of the city.
The next day, the criminal sent the officer's friend another message, this time asking for his phone number. The officer's friend became even more suspicious and decided to call the real police officer. He sent Marathi messages to the scammer who resorted to replying in English, which was another big giveaway.
The police officer confirmed that the message was a scam and that the Facebook profile was fake. He also told the officer's friend that the cybercriminal had likely made a mistake by using the wrong name.