A unique case of online fraud came to light on Saturday in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur. A young woman allegedly duped an elderly man out of Rs 53 lakh through the social media app Facebook. The elderly victim realised he had been defrauded when the woman’s phone was switched off. Following the discovery, he filed a complaint with the Superintendent of Police (SP) office and the cyber cell.
"A complainant Masoad Hussain had come with a complaint that he had met a woman identified as Sonam Yadav Singh through social media. Later, she told him that she would help in getting back the money confiscated by customs officials at Delhi airport. The victim gave some amount to her. After this she, along with a man identified as Rahul, started demanding and threatening him. The victim has given Rs 53 lakh till now," said Jabalpur Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Suryakant Sharma on the incident of a woman duping an elderly man of Rs 53 lakh.
According to reports, Masood Hussain Khan, a 70-year-old Jabalpur resident, recently connected with a woman named Sonam Yadav on Facebook. Sonam claimed to be a resident of London who had travelled to India to meet him. Later, she contacted him, saying she had reached Delhi airport but was facing trouble because gold worth lakhs of rupees, which she carried, was confiscated by customs. She claimed she needed money to get it released.
Believing her story, Khan transferred money to the bank account details provided by Sonam. Over time, she continued to contact him, claiming additional money was needed to help her brother and friends, who were also allegedly detained by customs. Trusting her pleas, Khan transferred funds repeatedly.
The situation escalated when Sonam and a man named Rahul, posing as her brother, began threatening Khan. They allegedly warned him that if he refused to pay more money, they would frame him by providing information to agencies like the CBI, ED, and others. Over 29 transactions, the duo extorted a total of ₹53 lakh from him. Even after this, they reportedly demanded more money.
The victim finally approached the police for help. Additional SP Suryakant Sharma stated that the cyber cell is investigating the case, including retrieving account details to track the suspects. The investigation is ongoing, and efforts are underway to locate and apprehend the fraudsters.