Ranchi, July 11: A sophisticated cyber fraud involving a fake Facebook friendship and a bogus overseas gift parcel has left a Ranchi woman poorer by more than ₹5 lakh, with fraudsters allegedly impersonating a UK-based man and customs officials to extort money through a series of fabricated charges. The Cyber Crime Police have registered an FIR and launched an investigation into the case.
The victim, identified as Uma Kumari, a resident of Sadabahar Chowk in Namkum, alleged that she was duped after accepting a Facebook friend request from an account operating under the name “Dr. Sam Cheris” on March 27, 2026.
According to the FIR, the accused claimed to be a resident of the United Kingdom and gradually developed a friendship with the woman. After their conversations shifted from Facebook to WhatsApp, the fraudster won her confidence by claiming that it was his daughter’s birthday and promising to send her an expensive gift parcel from abroad. He also asked for her residential address to dispatch the parcel.
A few days later, the victim received a call from a woman who introduced herself as a customs officer at Mumbai Airport. She claimed that the parcel had arrived but could only be released after payment of mandatory charges. The victim was initially asked to deposit ₹25,000 towards cargo shipping charges, followed by ₹75,000 for currency exchange, with the caller claiming that the parcel contained foreign currency.
Thereafter, the fraudsters allegedly continued demanding money under different pretexts, including customs clearance, shipping charges, railway transportation, X-ray scanning, Delhi inspection, ticket expenses, document verification, immigration clearance, security deposits, delivery charges and penalties for missing documents. At one stage, they allegedly claimed that the sender had arrived in India and had been detained at Mumbai Airport, demanding more money for immigration formalities.
The accused also allegedly threatened the woman with a money laundering case and confiscation of the parcel if she failed to make the payments. Trusting the claims, the victim transferred money to multiple bank accounts in several instalments, ultimately losing more than ₹5 lakh.
The fraud came to light only when the promised parcel never arrived and the accused continued demanding additional payments. Realising that she had fallen victim to a cyber scam, the woman first lodged a complaint through the National Cyber Crime Helpline (1930) before filing an FIR at the Ranchi Cyber Crime Police Station.
In her complaint, Uma Kumari stated, “On March 27, 2026, I received a Facebook friend request from an ID named Dr. Sam Cheris. After we became friends, we started talking on WhatsApp.” She further alleged, “He promised to send me an expensive gift parcel from abroad and asked for my address,” adding that she was “repeatedly asked to pay different charges to release the parcel and was threatened with a money laundering case.”
Following the registration of the FIR, cyber police have begun investigating the bank accounts, mobile numbers and digital transactions used in the fraud to trace those involved.
Appealing to the public to remain vigilant, the cyber police advised people not to accept friend requests from unknown individuals on social media and warned against transferring money in the name of receiving gifts or parcels from abroad without proper verification.
“Do not accept friend requests from unknown persons on social media. Do not transfer money in the name of receiving gifts or parcels from abroad without proper verification. Immediately report suspected cyber fraud through the 1930 cyber helpline or the National Cyber Crime Portal,” the advisory said.
