New Delhi, July 27 : Cyber fraudsters in Delhi-NCR have adopted a new scam by posting fake jewellery advertisements on social media to target unsuspecting buyers. In a recent case, Delhi Police arrested a 26-year-old man for allegedly cheating a woman of ₹1.16 lakh through a fake online jewellery sale.
The accused has been identified as Ankit Thakur, a resident of Palwal, Haryana. Police recovered a mobile phone and SIM card allegedly used in the crime.
According to police, the victim came across a social media advertisement offering jewellery for sale in February this year. After calling the number mentioned in the advertisement, she was contacted through another number by a person posing as the seller’s representative via a messaging application.
Believing the offer to be genuine, the woman transferred more than ₹1.16 lakh digitally on February 14 to purchase the jewellery. However, the promised items were never delivered.
After failing to receive the jewellery, the victim approached the police, who launched an investigation.
During the probe, investigators tracked the movement of the fraudulently obtained money and found that ₹97,580 had been used to pay a credit card bill, while the remaining ₹19,395 was transferred to another credit card account in Gujarat.
Police said Ankit Thakur admitted during questioning that he received nearly 10 per cent of the defrauded amount, while the remaining money was passed on to his associate, identified as Shamim.
Efforts are underway to arrest the co-accused, trace the remaining proceeds of the crime, and identify other members of the cyber fraud network.
Police have advised people to verify the authenticity of sellers before making online payments and to avoid transferring money to unknown individuals based solely on social media advertisements.
